


Written in the Stars

by DeiliaMedlini



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Death, Drama, F/M, Fate & Destiny, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Grief/Mourning, Life - Freeform, Romance, Sibling Rivalry, Soulmates, Star-crossed, mild violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:21:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27465613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeiliaMedlini/pseuds/DeiliaMedlini
Summary: Zelda, a noble girl from Central Hyrule, has been running for her life. Link, a young warrior from Lurelin Village, has been training to protect his home. When he finds Zelda, they quickly realize that they aren't strangers: their souls have met again and again in several lifetimes before. But little do they know that they have both been touched by the hands of the Goddesses: Nayru, the Goddess of Life, has vowed to protect Link for all his days while Din, the Goddess of Death, swore to claim Zelda's life whenever it pleases her. To be together, they'll have to fight fate and the Goddesses themselves, or die trying.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 60
Kudos: 106





	1. Prologue

The Spirit Realm was a quiet place. Heavenly billowing clouds of pure white and an endless sea of blue coat the domain of the gods. The only sound is that of wind, air, and then nothing at all. There is an occasional waterfall, the odd tree, the creak of a branch, the steady stream that passes, but for the most part, it’s a quiet place.

The souls of the departed did not linger in the same place as these waterfalls and trees and blues and whites. No, the souls dwell in their own area of the realm, a wash of light, lit up by the glow of the essence that each was once a person in their own right. Each once had a family, and a memory. But each time that soul died, it returned to the Sacred Realm to the care of the three Goddesses.

Din was the Goddess of Death. She ferried the departed to the Sacred Realm and kept their light safe until Nayru needed to return them to the earth, to another body, another family, a new mind. But it was the same soul. It was _always_ the same soul.

One great phenomenon that even Din couldn’t explain was how some souls pulled another. They gravitated towards the light of another and clung to it in desperation, silently begging the gods not to separate them. When Din noticed this, she’d often keep them together. Though she was the Goddess of Death, they were all still her creations and her responsibility. And watching those souls walk the land until they found one another was often a compelling tale that each Goddess enjoyed.

The Goddesses enjoyed watching the journey those souls often traversed just to find the other, the pull too much to resist, whether their host knew it or not. Sometimes, one died before they could reunite, and the show was over, forgotten by the Goddesses and they returned to their tasks as usual.

Nayru, the Goddess of Life, watched her creations much as any parent would watch their newborn sleep, awed and incredulous of the lives she’d created. She would guide those she took notice of, bringing them to wealth, prosperity, love, and happiness.

But Din enjoyed a good laugh, often at the expense of her divine sisters.

When she wanted to, Din would take Nayru’s creations and end their lives, suddenly, abruptly, violently. It was a pastime that she’d had for a millennium. After all, as the Goddess of Death, it was Din’s very job to ensure that all life ended at some point. She and Nayru were the guardians of humanity, ensuring that neither Goddess became too content, too infatuated with any one human or area.

It was then that Din visited a peaceful village that was nestled in a forest. The people were hard-working, and she knew it was a place Nayru and Farore favored. 

Farore was often the forgotten sister of the three. As the one who didn’t interfere in the lives of humans at all, Farore, the Goddess of Nature, controlled the winds, the seas, the grass, the plants. It was all her domain. Sometimes, she’d allow Nayru to ensure that a field was well fertilized so her people could thrive, and she’d allow Din to start a new ecosystem by wiping out the old, but she had the true final say over everything that was not of humanity, and she loved to wander outside the Spirit Realm, barefoot in the grass that she could feel warming her in thanks for her care, or dipping into the calm waters of a once-raging ocean, soothing her after a time of stress. This village was one she allowed to prosper and thrive.

The three goddesses were the all-powerful puppeteers of the world they’d created. For the most part, they did their jobs, and did them well. There was no need to mettle.

But the Sacred Realm was quiet.

And quietness leads to boredom.

For all their ethereal natures, the goddesses were, in fact, creatures of life. They had minds, thoughts, emotions, and desires.

And Din was bored.

She watched the village without interest; her only desire to act stemming solely from boredom. There was no ulterior motive—though she had to admit her choice of location was simply to spite her sisters.

With a sigh of resigned boredom, Din ran her hand along every tree she passed, feeling the life sucked out of them, infecting them with a toxin that would kill them all. The villagers nearby would call it a disease, ‘death by the Hand of Din’ they’d say. Though Din rarely showed herself to mortals, it was as if they could tell she’d touched them and cursed their lives to end.

“Din! Din, they’re screaming in pain! Please!” she heard from behind her. With a roll of her eyes, she turned to see both her sisters watching her with a disgusted look, the light from the flames flickering in their eyes as they watched on. It was Farore who looked close to tears, feeling the agony of the trees deep within her, as all three could when they were near their creations. For Din, the dying trees made her feel powerful. For Nayru and Farore, the destruction of life hurt.

“Please, stop! For me,” Farore begged again, placing her own hand on the trees to soothe their pain, though she couldn’t reverse the effects. Only Din could reverse the power of death.

“No,” Din said simply, touching the next tree. “I want this.” Her voice was monotone, as though the withering trees were simply not enough to bring her from her stupor. And at her own revelation, Din blinked, appearing closer to the village. Lively and full, she watched them for a moment, contemplating her decision before letting out a long breath that snaked towards the village in tendrils that were unseen to the mortals.

“Din, no!”

Nayru pushed past her sister and made for the village. She looked around helplessly, watching Din’s breath touch too many for her to stop. But she called as many of the furthest villagers together, drawing them to her and pulling them into an area where she could protect them all at once. None thought it odd that they’d gathered outside of a house in a large group, but she wrapped her arms around them, shielding them from Din’s infection.

“Oh, please,” Din muttered, wandering up to them. “What’s the loss of one village? You have so many others. Give these to me. I want them.”

“And _I_ want them as well!” Nayru had infused her light into each of them, and she let go, turning fully to face her sister. “And now they’re mine. You’re a menace when you want to be, sister.”

Din touched one of the humans, flinching away when she felt a sharp pain in her hand, Nayru’s love for her people keeping Din at bay.

With a disgusted sound, Din sent a wave of her powers at her sister, knowing it wouldn’t harm her, but it was an annoyance, and if she enjoyed one thing, it was annoying her siblings.

“Din! You’re such a child!” Nayru said, her body shuddering at the sensation of the ineffective curse.

“Am I a child? Perhaps I should take one of the village children back to the Sacred Realm with me to show you what a child I am!”

Nayru stormed off, disappearing into smoke, followed by Farore.

Din was left alone to watch her curse take out most of the village. And once they’d fallen, she collected their souls and brought them home with her to the Sacred Realm.

When she set them down among the others who awaited a new mortal body, one of the fierce lights began to move, pulled across the nothingness that they all floated in. Din watched it with a smile, always intrigued by those drawn to others. It latched onto another with a fierce snap, held together so tightly that it was easy to mistake them as one. She didn’t even know which she’d just taken from the village.

Din squinted at them, reaching out carefully to brush her finger along the light. A soul of great strength and wisdom, determination and an unmatched force of will. She touched the other. Courage so strong it had been the bearer’s downfall in past lives. Determination and a stubborn refusal to give up that only rivaled the one it was attached to.

No wonder they hold so tightly to the other.

She picked up the first, examining it in her hand. But the second flew at her, determined to stay with its match. And Din grinned when she found it a struggle to hold them separate from each other.

“Interesting,” she muttered, her muscles straining until she had to let them both go, and they snapped together again.

Time was not the same in the Sacred Realm, and Din stared at the orbs for a _long_ time. So long that Nayru had to retrieve souls on her own to replace those lost on the earth below that they usually watched so carefully.

“What are you looking at?” she asked, eyeing the bright lights.

Din demonstrated the intense pull between the two, and sat back, returning to her pensive vigil.

“Oh,” Nayru said, reaching for them. “I’ll let them down. Looks like you may have kept them separated through death for some time now. They want to be together once again.”

But Din swatted her hand away. “No. I want to keep them. I’ve never seen such a pull. I like them.”

“Let them free, Din. Watch from afar and see the same pull from there. You aren’t a hoarder.”

“No. I’m going to keep them.”

Nayru walked away, muttering something under her breath. It was only then, in the comfort and welcome silence that Din returned to her work, leaving the two tightly wound souls alone.

So, when she returned later to find them missing, she let out an enraged screech.

“Nayru!” she screamed, pushing her way through the space where the orbs floated, making sure she wasn’t simply missing them. “Nayru!”

“Yes?” she asked calmly, walking into the room.

“Where are they? What did you do!?”

“I did my job, unlike you. They’re where they belong now. I sent them down to the earth.”

“No!”

Din stood and pushed past Nayru, descending to where she sensed those that she wanted. A beautiful blonde baby boy was wrapped in his mother’s arms, screaming with life. Life that Din hadn’t intended to allow him yet. She took another step, appearing before another family, a calm baby already asleep in her mother’s arms.

Nayru was beside her sister in an instant. “You see? They’re where they are meant to be.”

But Din’s eyes were red with fury, and she grabbed tight to the mother’s wrist.

“Oh, Din, no,” Nayru breathed, watching tendrils of death wrap around the mother until she began to choke on them.

Post-birth complications, the mortals believed. Common and unavoidable. Like the Hand of Din: death itself.

“I am stronger than you,” Din hissed, her eyes narrowing at her sister. “And I take what I want.”

Nayru knew the look of pure determination and pride on her sister’s face. And she knew a decision had to be made. To reach for the girl, or to return to the boy. There was no way she could save them both, though she knew Din was going to try.

And the girl was too close to Din.

Nayru faded out, returning to the boy as she rested her hand on his head, coating him in her life and love, claiming him as one of her protected ones before returning to Din. She'd fully been expecting to Din holding the child, ferrying the souls of the girl and her mother back to the Sacred Realm, as was her right once she'd touched them.

But upon her return, the baby girl was still alive.

“Din?”

The Goddess of Death was smiling down at the baby, her hand brushing back the strands of blonde on her tiny head. “I think you’re right. I want to see what happens to them. How strong is the pull? How many years will pass until they find each other? And when they finally do, I will take her, and she will be mine. And I will watch his soul break, so close, but so far. And it will hurt you most of all, sister. What is their life worth when the one you live for is gone?”

Nayru shook her head. “I’ll protect them both from you.”

But Din simply smiled, crooked and vengeful.

“You can’t. I’ve touched her. As you’ve touched him. We have our pieces. Now let’s play, sister.”


	2. Chapter 2

Link sat on the hammock that was tied between two trees, his head thrown back, dangling off the ropes of the outdoor net bed so he could feel the breeze of Farore’s breath on his sticky skin. He’d been training for _hours_ with the other village warriors, and all he wanted was to take a nap. But the air was starting to turn thick with the promise of rainfall in a few hours, and he wasn’t keen on being stuck outside in it.

Some part of him considered going inside the small hut that he lived in with his family to take a nap in there, but at this time of day, he’d never hear the end of it from his parents or his sister.

Begrudgingly, Link sat up and wiped his eyes of sleep and bent forward to pull his boots on.

A whoosh of air passed by his ear, and he stood immediately, hand on the sword that hung loosely at his waist. But he lowered it with a sigh when he saw his several of his friends clumped together.

“I told you he’s unkillable! I watched him avoid an arrow aimed right at his face last week!”

Link rolled his eyes and finished putting his boots on, glancing behind him to see a large pebble had fallen where his head had been. He watched his friend lower a slingshot. “Okay, Armez, thanks for the demonstration. Can you not shoot at me next time you want to make a point?”

“I didn’t shoot,” Armez said, as if that made it any better. His head jerked toward another boy, tall and overtly happy. Squinting for a better look, he could see Armez still had a rock in his hand, and there was another boy with a slingshot.

“Thanks, Numan,” Link said dryly.

“Just helping a friend out.”

Rolling his eyes, Link made his way into the group. In such a small village, those of similar ages stuck together, so Armez and Numan were his closest friends. Even then, he felt a bit distanced from them, like he couldn’t quite connect with them on some level.

There were many others in the group though, ages ranging from his sister’s age to some boys who were in their twenties. Some of them were his friends from the village warriors, all training with the experienced men. He’d been training with them for years, and now that he was eighteen and old enough to join the real force of warriors— those who keep the village safe from raiders and outliers—he’d devoted more time to his training. It was what made him almost constantly sore and tired.

They made their way into the heart of the village. A little village that thrived on fishing, Lurelin was a quiet place, humble, and secluded from the rest of Hyrule.

“Link!” a familiar voice rang out. Soon, the padding of bare feet against wooden planks was thudding louder

“Aryll?”

A young girl of ten, everyone in the village said that Aryll looked like Link did at her age. Choppy blonde hair that had to be cut when she’d gotten it stuck in the slit between the planks of wood on the docks; wide, blue, attentive eyes that were constantly alert and always paying attention, and the smile of a charmer. Though now, she couldn’t muster a smile, only a look of panic.

“Dad’s hurt! A hook in his arm! Come quick!”

“Shit,” Link muttered, pushing past Armez and Numan to follow Aryll to the docks. When he got there, his father was grinning, completely unaffected despite the large fishing hook caught in the skin of his arm.

“Hey, Link. Got a knife?”

Link’s father wore a round hat at all times, but it didn’t cover the brilliant blonde hair he’d passed down to both his children. Despite the hat’s sore attempt at shielding him from the sun, his skin had turned to leather from years of constant sun exposure thanks to his profession as a fisherman and lifelong inhabitance of Lurelin Village.

“Again, dad?” Link snorted, glad it wasn’t as bad as he’d thought. His father had found hooking _himself_ as opposed to the fish to be an occupational hazard. Link pulled his knife from his belt and rested it over one of the many fires that constantly burned on the beach. “Were you casting?”

“We don’t eat if I don’t cast.”

Link made a noise of vague acknowledgement, but he didn’t want to indulge his father’s carelessness. He knew his mother would be of little help on that front. She also fished, though she was more proficient with netting fish than using a reel. He could see her sitting in the sand, weaving a basket as she waited, brown hair blowing in the breeze, a breeze that desperately tried to take her book with it.

“Hey, sunshine,” Link’s father laughed as he snapped a finger in front of Link’s face, “Daydreaming now? I’d like this hook out sometime soon.”

Aryll clung to Link. She was not one who enjoyed blood in any way, shape, or form. It made her a poor help in the kitchen where gutting a fish has become everyone’s job but hers..

Link carefully pried the barb of the hook away from his father’s skin, pushing it out the long way. His father bit down on a pained scream, and it came out as little more than a breath of air and a groan. Years of practice had helped him perfect the technique of remaining mostly silent after doing something careless.

“Link,” Aryll whispered, pulling at his loose shirt, shaking some sand loose in the process.

“Yeah?”

She didn’t respond, but she pointed at the gate leading out of Lurelin.

“What is it?” their father asked, craning his neck to see.

But Link was already pushing Aryll away. “Go to mom. Go. Tell her to take care of dads arm for me, okay?”

“Link?” his father asked once Aryll had scampered away down the beach toward their mother..

“I see horses. That’s all. They’re not getting closer either. I don’t see riders.”

“Go call the other warriors. I’ve got the family.”

Link nodded, grateful that his father did in fact know what he was doing enough for his statement to genuinely calm Link. Their family was well-protected.

Link took off, glancing back at his family one more time before grabbing Numan’s arm as he headed towards the gate to town. “Know what’s going on?” he asked, pointing at the riderless horses down the path.

Numan squinted and shook his head. “No. What are they doing? I can’t see anyone.”

Link grabbed his sword and looked at Numan’s belt. Nothing. He couldn’t have _him_ as backup without a weapon.

“Numan, go get everyone. I’m going to go see if the riders are just off the side of the road.”

“Okay,” he breathed, running back into the village, his arms waving as he tried to catch someone’s attention.

Link carefully headed onto the path, peeking through the bushes off to the side of the agitated horses. There was nothing there, so he went to the other side, shushing the animals as if they’d listen. The other side, closer to the ocean, he could see movement just in the distance.

He wondered what anyone would be doing this _close_ to the village, especially if they were doing something unlawful. Surely, they’d know that they’d be spotted, and suspicion would arise with them keeping a distance.

Following the movement, Link realized he was tailing someone who appeared to be a bandit, or at least, he was certainly dressed like one. His horse hadn’t shown any sign of stolen trinkets or overflowing bags, but bandits leaving their horse in the middle of the road just outside a village in order to wander the coastline? Something was odd.

It didn’t take long to figure out what that was.

There was a blonde girl on the ground, face first into the sand, flailing around and trying to scream through a hand that was muffling her mouth. She was trying to push the hand off of her, but the girl couldn’t match the strength of the bandits she was trying to fight off.

She was about his age; lithe, tall, a noble—if her lack of muscles said anything about her lifestyle, that is. Even Aryll had to be stronger and more physically fit than this girl, and Aryll was eight years younger.

There was no way she could fight off the tall, gritty female bandit whose hand was tight around the girl’s throat, _and_ the strong, muscular man who helped hold her down into the painfully grainy ground. And Link was just _watching_ as she was pushed deeper into the sand and rise of the tide, her fight against them slowing with every second. The sea cascaded over her as it came inland, soaking her hair and face, and leaving her fighting a cough on top of everything, breath sputtering as she tried to spit out water and breathe through the hand that muffled her mouth.

Something stupid drove Link forward to the girl.

His instincts said wait. His _training_ said to wait for backup. The odds were overwhelming, especially for a new warrior, but his body reacted before he could stop it, and he sprung out from his hiding place, sword in hand, and eyes taking in the truly irresponsible position he’d put himself in. Four bandits. All stronger than him. All with weapons.

And a girl who’s wide, frightened eyes were screaming for his help, even when her voice couldn’t.

Link watched her for a moment longer, just the length of a breath. He’d never seen her a day in his life—he knew he’d remember someone who looked like _that_ —but she was so familiar, like an old friend he hadn’t seen in years. Her eyes called to him, looking at him with the same recognition he’d felt. And something in him knew that he had to save her. It was why he’d done the stupidest thing a warrior could do and expose himself to the very real threat of death. He could practically see Din standing in the sand beside them, waiting to pull him towards her and carry him off to the Sacred Realm for his foolishness.

The girl flinched as another wave washed over her. This time, the woman lowered her hand from the girl’s mouth to reach for a knife at her belt. The other man kept the girl down so she couldn’t run.

They were the furthest away from Link, but they also seemed to be the most immediate threat to the girl.

Dropping low into the stance he’d practice all his life, he realized he’d never fought in real combat before. The skirmishes they had during training weren’t enough to prepare him for the fear that threatened to overtake him, that froze him in place as he looked at the very real, very dangerous weapons that were ready and trained on him. But he kept his mind on the girl, on his sister just inside the gates, of his father and his prone-ness to injury and his age, his mother. It gave him the courage he needed to hold his ground, stepping backwards to avoid being flanked. Backup wouldn’t be long if Numan had been quick to alert the others.

Thankfully, Numan usually wasted very little time doing _anything_ , and Link could feel the vibrations of several village warriors making their way towards him before he could even hear their shouts, calling out and demanding to know who the bandits were.

The second Link felt the ground shake with their approach, he’d started to move, ducking in between the two men who stood in his way to get to the girl.

The female bandit ran forward to meet Link, but he felt Nayru’s divine eye had to be watching him as he narrowly missed the slice of her knife. But by the time Link had passed her, the woman’s focus was on the new set of approaching warriors, leaving Link for the man beside the young girl on the ground.

The bandit near the girl had drawn a sword in one hand, and a knife in another, turning to her and rearing back, his arm ready to strike down and end her quickly, clearly sold on the idea that they’d lost, and she was worth more dead than alive.

In hindsight, Link knew that he wasn’t thinking with his brain. No person in their right mind would have made so many poor choices for a stranger. Later on, Numan would blame it on Link thinking with the wrong head, but the more superstitious of the villagers said that it was Nayru’s hand holding Link back from harm.

But in that moment, Link pushed off the ground and dove into the girl, pulling her into him as they crashed back to the ground she’d never really gotten up from. They rolled out of the way of the sword just in time as it crashed down into the ground, sending up a geyser of sand and seawater rather than her blood.

“Stay down,” Link hissed into her ear, crawling over her to get back to his feet, raising his sword just in time to feel the blow of an enraged swing that was running off momentum. It knocked Link straight back down.

Link fell beside her, pushed by the force of it, and tried to scramble back to his feet, but he felt something grip his shirt and pull him backwards. There was a sharp sting across his neck, and he saw steel flash before his eyes. Glancing behind him, he saw the girl holding his shirt. She’d pulled him away from a deadly blow, moving him far enough away that the man’s knife had only grazed his neck rather than severed it. For that alone, Link was indebted to her.

He didn’t bother trying to get up again this time. Instead, he just scampered back towards the girl, holding his sword out, ready to block the next strike. He could feel her tight hold on him as she helped pull him backwards.

One of the village warriors finally made it through, bursting in front of Link and the girl to take on the bandit. Link let out a relieved breath and pulled the girl to her feet, not wasting the moment where there were no swords trained on them.

Almost as soon as they were up, the bandit made a break for them again, and Link dragged the girl with him towards the water where their backs were protected, and they were closer to the other village warriors.

It seemed that bandit realized the odds and took off, away from the horses and into the trees just outside the village, disappearing into the distance.

Link didn’t get the chance to see which direction he’d gone. There was a tug on his sleeve, and he quickly looked at the girl. She wasn’t seeking his attention but was struggling to keep her balance, swaying like the fronds on the trees in the wind. Link’s arm shot behind her, keeping a hold on her waist as he held her upright. And from how heavily she leaned into him, he wondered if he was the only thing keeping her on her feet now that her adrenaline had started to return to normal.

“Th—” she tried, but she cringed, squeezing her eyes tightly together. Her hand flew up to her throat, tenderly pressing her fingers down and wincing when she did. Her eyes met Link’s, a silent question as she moved her fingers out of the way.

“Whoa,” Link muttered, seeing for the first time that she was more than a little banged up. There were lines on her throat in the shape of fingers, and they were turning dark blue and purple. It looked like there might have been a cut, but he couldn’t tell. “Yeah, that’s a deep bruise. I don’t know enough to say if anything’s crushed. There’s a cut though, I think…”

He raised his hand to feel it, but the girl flinched away from him, eyes wide again, like a deer who needed help but couldn’t bring itself to trust the humans around it. She stumbled, her legs starting to go, but Link caught her shirt, pulling her back up before she could hit the ground.

“I’m sorry!” he said quickly, pulling his free hand away. “I just wanted to check that you weren’t bleeding. It’s dark red here.”

The girl took several deep breaths, all of which seemed to hurt her, and finally raised her chin, exposing her neck. She nodded briefly, and Link moved slowly, but with as much haste as he could to get it over with for her.

His fingers lightly brushed her soft skin, and they both reacted. The girl shuddered, her hand immediately reaching for his, and Link felt a pulse of energy rush through his hand and up his arm, drawing him towards her again, rather than pulling away. His eyes flickered up to hers. She made no move to push him away, despite her hand on his. So, he let his finger brush over the marks, keeping his touch featherlight, feeling for any breaks in the skin.

“No, that wasn’t a cut. Just a deep bruise. You’re… well… you’re more or less okay. Maybe you need water, or something like broth. I’m not a healer, I don’t know.”

“You—” she tried again but cut herself off with a shake of her head, her eyes slamming shut in pain. She opted to stay quiet for now. Her hand went to the very real cut on Link’s throat. The one she’d kept from being much, much worse.

“Right,” he said, trying to keep his breathing steady as he felt her hand on him. If he closed his eyes, it almost felt like she’d done it a thousand times before. Warm, familiar hands. But his eyes were open, and this girl was a stranger who’d saved his life, as he’d saved hers. Her fingers were soft and tender, the hands of a noble. There was no way she’d worked with ropes, or knots, or stood out in the burning sun each day. There was just no way. “Thank you for pulling me out of the way back there. I’d probably be dead if not for you.

The girl gave him a look as she lowered her hand, one that said, ‘ _You wouldn’t have been in this mess if not for me.’_

“Well, yeah,” he admitted, and it got a small smile from her, a chuckle even. It was so soft and airy that he wondered if he’d actually heard it. But he found himself grinning at the noise anyway. Her eyes crinkled and her nose pinched. Freckles appeared in the daylight, rather than the shade that they’d been in on the ground. Green eyes stared at him, sparkling with joy.

From the looks of her, he wasn’t sure she’d laughed in some time, and it seemed to lift a weight off her.

“Link!” one of the warriors, Link’s master, Sebasto, called. Link looked over, seeing the other three bandits’ limp bodies being taken care of. “Grab the girl! She’s going to fall!”

“Huh?”

He turned to the girl again, and he felt her grab his arm just before her eyes rolled back into her head and she slumped over.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” he muttered, more to himself than anything as he grabbed her, holding her up awkwardly, her head dangling back as his hands were tight around her waist. He would drag her if he tried to carry her this way.

Instead, he finagled his hold on her until he had his arms under her back and legs. Her head was slumped onto his chest.

“Go ahead, Link. Get her some help,” Sebasto said. “We’ll take care of all this, and we’ll talk later. Get her to Maiamai.”

Link nodded and hurried inside the village, quick to spot his family hovering in the doorway of their house, safe and relieved when Link appeared. But they could see that he wasn’t alone. Aryll went to run to him, but their mother grabbed her, stopping Aryll when they saw Link carrying an unfamiliar, limp girl.

Link nodded, his way of letting them know he was okay before heading into the small hut that belonged to the village healer, a woman affectionately known as Mama Maiamai.

She was old, bony and yet still plump all at once. Her fingers were sticks that could have poked into him. “What’s this?” she asked, her creaky voice alight with interest.

“A girl.”

Maiamai shot Link the most disgusted look. She was known for that look. “Is it now? I hadn’t noticed. Thank you for your insight, Link.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. Just set her down on the bed and don’t give me stupid answers anymore.”

As soon as his arms were away from the girl, she sat up, gasping for air, tears springing to her eyes as she clutched her throat. Her eyes were unseeing, and all she saw of Link was a shape. Sounds of desperate terror escaped from her, and she backed herself into the corner on the bed, breathlessly trying to take in air and clear her vision.

Link held up his hands. “Hey, hey, it’s just me. It’s me from before. My name is Link. You’re still stuck with me, but you’re safe. They’re all gone, whoever they were.”

She grabbed his arm in relief, letting out the breath she’d just taken, and she pressed her hand over her heart, as if that alone could slow her deadly pulse.

Which only spiked again when she realized there was someone else in the room.

The girl started to cough.

“Poor child,” Maiamai said, taking a seat on the end of the bed. “Who were those men?” She inspected one of the girl’s arms from a distance. Dirty, damaged, as her throat and face were. Evidence of attempted care. But her arms and neck had bruises, likely from when she’d been grabbed and restrained. Maiamai shook her head in disgust over their treatment of the girl. “Have you been on the run from them, my child? And they just caught up with you today? Is that what happened?”

The girl hesitated, looking from Link to Maiamai several times before tentatively nodding. Her mouth moved, but no sound came out. Instead, her lips formed silent words. “ _Took from home.”_ Then she rubbed her fingers together. Rupees. “ _I ran.”_

Maiamai nodded, understanding: The girl had been taken with the intention of ransoming her for rupees, but she’d escaped before they could do anything. And Link had interrupted their recapture.

“Well,” Maiamai said, “we’ll fix you up here and escort you back home. We don’t send anyone back home any less than healed. We’re certainly not handing you over to ruffians, and rupees are of little interest to all of us in Lurelin, so take a breath, child. We’ll keep you safe.”

And the girl did take a breath, reluctantly letting go of Link as she did.

If Maiamai was anything, she was blunt. “When was the last time you had a drink, poor thing? Goddess, it’s like Din is sucking the life right out of you. We need to get you some food and water before the hand of Din takes you from this world. Link, go.”

Link grabbed some of the water from the well outside, and brought it back, helping the girl take small sips. Her hands shook too much on their own. “You can’t drink too much at once.”

_“I know,_ ” she mouthed, though she didn’t let go of the water until Link moved it out of reach.

Instead, her eyes wandered the unfamiliar hut. But Link could hear her breathing speed up, and she grew paler.

“Hey, you should lie down.”

The girl opened her mouth and made a few shapes that he couldn’t follow.

“Do that again,” he said, not understanding. And she did, more slowly this time. “Cel-da?”

She shook her head, managing a buzzing sound, though her hand was quick to find her throat, pained by the noise she’d made. She lipped the word again.

“Zelda?” Link tried.

She nodded, a smile on her face. That same, irresistible smile from earlier that had him returning it eagerly.

“Zelda. I’m Link.” He held out his hand, which Zelda took, shaking it once and weakly before her hand fell to her side.

She gestured to the bed, and Link nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got you.” He helped her down so she didn’t crash. But even then, when she was down against the hard mattress, Link didn’t let go of her hand.

“You’re alright here. We’ve all got you. Don’t worry.”

She gave his hand a squeeze before loosening her grip and closing her eyes, a look of peaceful serenity overtaking her.

And even though he knew he _could_ leave, his hand never let go of hers.

Maybe he was crazy. Maybe he was high on adrenaline from the fight. But this girl had already taken a small piece of him.

And he was quickly realizing that he didn’t want to take it back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yesterday, this chapter was 2000 words, but somehow while editing it... I doubled the word count?? I think that means that I'm going to have inconsistent chapter lengths for this fic! So you'll probably seen them somewhere in the 2000-5000 word range, it seems!


	3. Chapter 3

Link dreamt of verdant green eyes.

He's seen them before. In the dream, thy were blue and brown and green and grey. It didn't matter; they were still _hers._ For a long moment, he wondered if he'd truly gone mad. This girl was no one to him, so why didn't she feel that way?

"How is she?"

Link's eyes shot open.

He reached for his throat, feeling his bandaged wound. His hand came away with beads of sweat stuck to his fingertips, and he was breathing heavily.

"It's okay, it's just me," the voice was his mother's.

He nodded, blinking sleep from his eyes. "Sorry, what?"

"How is she?"

Instinctively, his hand tightened around Zelda's, his thumb running a quick line along the back of hers before letting go. He stood up, offering his mom his seat. Instead, he sat beside Zelda on the bed.

With every turn of his neck, Link's neck stung. Though Maiamai had covered his wound for him, Link was reminded of Zelda's hands pulling him back, despite how fragile her body was in this state. Seeing her sleep a full day had made him realize just how worn out she'd been.

"She's still sleeping."

His mother sat down. "It's been almost a full day since she's last been awake. You're sure she's okay?"

Her words weren't addressed to Link. They were to Mama Maiamai. But still, he stiffened. _Was she okay?_

"She's bone tired, worn down and physically injured. That's not to say what emotional damage being kidnapped from your home will do to a person. And her body is tense and frightened, attentive to every sound. She's been alone at night for who knows how long, and she's heard Din herself walking around her. This girl knows what it's like to feel death watching, and if she wasn't careful, she'd have the hand of Din to guide her back to her resting place."

Link's mother turned to him, putting her hand on his leg. "She trusts you. You saved her, and she saved you in return. I think she'd feel most comfortable if you're the one who stays with her when she wakes. Are you alright with that, Link?"

Link turned to Zelda. She was finally sleeping peacefully after a few hours of tossing and turning. His hand twitched, itching to brush the hair out of her face so she might sleep even sounder.

"Yeah, I don't mind."

"Doesn't help _at all_ that she's gorgeous," Numan said, waltzing into the room behind everyone, uncaring of how loud his voice boomed. He crossed his eyes and wriggled his eyebrows at Link.

"Shh," Link hissed, realizing his hand kept creeping closer to Zelda. He pulled it to his lap so he could keep track of what it was doing. "She's asleep."

"Doesn't make her any less gorgeous, so my point stands. That's the only reason you're hanging around her. I'll sit with her if _you're_ tired, Mr. Hero. I certainly don't mind."

Maiamai scoffed. "Oh, you're not staying with her after that comment, Numan."

Link scoffed ignoring Numan, but his mother knelt in front of him. " _You_ _should_ sleep. I can sit with her. You had several long days that you weren't prepared for, and you deserve some proper rest. You've done so well. I'm very proud of you."

"Thanks," he said with an embarrassed glance at Numan. "Yeah, if you're staying with her, I'll go sleep for a few hours."

"I will," she promised, urging him and Numan to leave the tent with several flicks of her wrist.

When Link arrived back at home, he laid down on the hard mattress and stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep for hours. His father was already snoring by the time Link had gotten home, and Link watched Aryll for a bit, concerned that she might fall out of their parents' bed that she shared with them for lack of enough space in their small home for a third bed. She was practically hanging off the edge. But when she did nothing to indicate that she was going to roll off for nearly another hour, Link's eyes finally closed.

Again, he dreamt of Zelda. This time, it was _her_ , not some dream-version where she looked different. It was the same Zelda he saw in front of him in Mama Maiamai's hut. It was this girl he'd fixated on.

And then, he saw the bright red glow of the Goddess of Death, her hand reaching out to both him and Zelda.

His eyes flung open, clutching his chest as he tried to breathe normally once more. He was still exhausted, as if he hadn't slept at all, but one look out the window told him he'd gotten several hours at least.

Blinking away sleep from his eyes, he changed his clothes and headed outside into the bright light of the rising sun.

Though everything in him screamed to go see if Zelda was okay, he went to check the fishing traps that his family had left in the water. They weren't full yet. He was tempted to lie in the hammock that was tied to two palm fruit trees, but that too would have been pointless. All of it just felt like he was wasting time rather than being productive.

Aimlessly, he wandered the village until he stopped on the beach again, burying his feet into the warm sand. He heard someone clear their throat, and he turned to see his father.

"Having fun staring at nothing?"

Link scoffed, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. "Am I crazy?"

"Yes," his father laughed. But when he saw Link's serious expression, his softened. "What do you mean?"

Link felt suddenly embarrassed that he'd brought it up at all. "I just… I can't stop thinking about that girl. Zelda. I feel crazy."

His father grinned but did his best to keep his face expressionless otherwise. "Well, I think—given the circumstances of you two meeting—it's understandable. She was involved in your first fight. She's the first person you've ever had to actually defend. You brought her in. You stayed by her side all day yesterday. And she's someone new in your life. I think that it's very reasonable that your mind is on her."

Link breathed out a sigh, relieved that his father had carefully danced around stating the obvious: " _You have a crush on this girl_."

"Are you going to relieve your mother of her vigil?"

Link nodded and kicked some of the sand away from him. "Yeah. I was taking the scenic route though."

"So that you won't have to see Zelda sooner?"

Rolling his eyes, Link brushed past his father. "Thank you for your help, dad."

"Anytime!" he chuckled, patting his son's shoulder as he walked by.

Link headed up the hill and went to the training tent where all of the village's weapons were kept. Though there were mostly spears and harpoons, he preferred the sword. He was one of the few in the village who had this preference, which made training a bit harder, but he never relented on his insistence. He had no intention to train that morning, but he picked up the sword anyway and swung it around gracefully a few times before setting it back. It always felt good in his hand.

"—and they said that Nayru's Protection itself stayed Din's Hand from taking him."

Link narrowed his eyes and slowed down, letting his ears perk at the conversation.

"Yeah, and then he grabbed the girl and hauled her away! I told you he was unkillable."

"Do you remember the shark incident?"

Link snorted, unnoticed by whoever had been speaking, and walked away. His hand drifted to the shark tooth he kept tied on a low rope around his neck and beneath his shirt. It was his good luck charm, though it had come at a cost, but he never took it off. As he tried to escape the gossip, he could hear footsteps following him.

"Link, stop."

He turned to see Sebasto headed in his direction. The old warrior swung a sword around before untying its sheath from his waist and setting it down with the village's other weapons. Sebasto was the only other warrior who was proficient with a sword, and he had become Link's primary teacher. But instead, Sebasto grabbed a harpoon.

"You were brave to go after that girl, but you were so incredibly stupid. I cannot believe you went there without waiting for backup. I thought I taught you better. You could have been killed. You're so lucky. What happened out there was luck, not skill."

"I know, I'm sorry. I saw her and…"

"You shouldn't have gotten that close in the first place. You should have waited."

"Yes, Sebasto, I'm sorry."

"See that it doesn't happen again, or you'll either be sent back to training, or dead. I don't want you dead, Link, so do _not_ pull a stunt like that again, not for some pretty girl, not even for your sister. You wait. You wait so you don't die and so you don't endanger our village."

Link nodded, taking several steps back. "Yes, sir; I'll be sure it doesn't happen again."

Sebasto nodded and grabbed Link's shoulder. "That said… well done." He took the harpoon and headed down to the beach, leaving Link by the weapons.

And even then, he hadn't intended to go to Zelda yet, but that's exactly where his feet brought him.

He nodded to his mother, who was sitting beside Zelda with Mama Maiamai. But as he walked closer, what he hadn't expected was to see Zelda sitting up, a steaming cup in her hand.

Zelda beamed as she looked at Link, and he couldn't help but return her smile.

He knelt beside his mom, lacking room other than practically sitting on Zelda. Her mouth moved, but no sound came out. So, she tried again as Link waited.

She swallowed visibly before rasping out, "Thank you."

"Of course. And thank you. You saved me from an unwanted decapitation. Are you feeling a little better?"

Nodding was all she could do, but she looked away shyly. Link was almost sure he could see her blush as she did, turning her face into the dark shadow that was cast just off to her side so none could catch her expression.

Link cleared his throat, glancing quickly at his mother. This girl was attractive, and that was _not_ something he wanted his mom to notice in the way his cheeks pinked up and how he couldn't look at the girl without smiling.

His mom had a sort of second sense about her children, and the moment Link looked away, her expression turned smug. "Maiamai, would you come outside with me for a moment?"

Link bit his lip, knowing that she'd done it for him. She'd already figured it out.

But when the room was clear, Link wasted little time. "Mind if I sit?"

She shook her head and Link took his mother's seat just in front of Zelda. "It still hurts to talk, then?"

Zelda mouthed 'yes.'

"Well, I love talking. I can talk enough for the both of us."

Zelda laughed, that same light, airy laugh that had Link questioning his own ears.

"So, you were on the run from those guys, huh?"

Zelda held up six fingers.

"Six… people captured you?"

She shook her head and mimed sleeping.

"Oh, six days?" Link tried again, this time, earning an approving grin and head nod. "Gods, that's awful. What did you do for food?" He stopped himself, realizing he hadn't asked a yes or no question. "Sorry, don't try to answer that. Let me rephrase: did you find things to eat?"

Zelda smiled at his attempts to keep communicating with her. It was kind of him. She nodded.

"Well, I make a mean roasted bass. If your throat ends up feeling better, I'll make it for you."

That was how it started with Zelda.

He'd spent the entire day talking with her, or rather, finding different ways of _trying_. Their conversations had to stay simple: things she could nod or shake her head to. When they became more complex, simply because he was interested in her answers, she'd try to mouth a short response that he would try to guess—though it was mostly an incorrect guess on his part. It was amusing, if nothing else, and it seemed to set Zelda at ease while being in a strange village with no one she knew.

The next day, Link had gone back early, finding her asleep. He'd sat beside her, closing his eyes for a bit, only to open them again with her drinking broth from a bowl, listening to Mama Maiamai tell her a story.

When she turned to Link, her eyes ever-sparkling, she pressed her hand gingerly to her throat.

"Hi," she rasped out.

Link couldn't help the shocked face he made at hearing her broken voice, but it was quickly replaced by excitement.

"Hi."

"Maybe…" she cleared her throat, earning a warning look from Maiamai to take it easy. "Maybe I can ask you some questions today?" She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath, winded from trying to force the words through her hoarse throat. But she looked proud of herself, victorious at the level of progress she'd made since coming to the village.

Maiamai placed a bowl of soup beside Link, offering him a meal. "I'll be around if either of you needs anything," she'd said before taking off, leaving them alone.

After a few moments, Zelda hesitantly cleared her throat. "How are you?"

It was raspy still and looked painful to speak. Her eyes drifted to the bandage on Link's throat.

"I'm better. Thank you. You?"

"Better."

Link smiled. "Good. Good, I'm glad. You look good."

Zelda raised an eyebrow, biting her lip playfully. "Oh?"

"Uh… I mean physically." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, you don't look good _physically_. Well, no, that's… you _do!_ You definitely do. I just mean… I'm going to stop now."

Zelda started to laugh, a sound that almost sounded normal. Or, well, he _believed_ it was her normal voice. He'd never heard her without a creak to it.

"It's cute, don't worry."

"It's…?" Link let out a short breath and shook his head, covering his mouth as he sat forward to cover the red that was steadily creeping up his neck. "Thanks," he muttered instead.

"Your mom…" Zelda had to stop to take a drink, pausing for a moment to recover from the pain that seared her throat. "Your mom was telling me all about you."

If Link thought he was already red, it was nothing on the shade he'd turned after hearing that. "Was she?"

"She told me how you've been training for years. I suppose I'm grateful for your lack of free time all these years."

"In hindsight, I'm glad, too."

Zelda smiled as she tried to sit up, though she found herself gasping in pain.

"What? What is it?" Link asked quickly, standing up with his hands hovering helplessly over him, though he didn't know what to do.

She was clutching her side, rolling onto her back as she breathed deeply. "I forgot I hurt my ribs when I escaped. I'm okay. Sorry."

"Don't apologize. What can I do?"

"Nothing. Um, actually, distract me."

Link watched her for another moment before sitting back down. "Okay. Can I ask what happened to you? How did you end up here?"

"You brought me," she laughed before letting out a long sigh. "I was on a walk. My family is respected in town, and people knew who I was. They wanted to use me to get money, but apparently someone wanted me dead, too. I'm guessing to hurt my father. The Yiga do that. My mother died when I was born, so it's just my father and I at home, and I feel like my life is in danger all the time now. I should never have gone for that walk."

"Who were they? These Yiga people. Do you know?"

"You don't know the Yiga Clan?"

Link leaned back. "Oh, we're… secluded here."

"Apparently! Well, they're a group who insist that they have divine insight. They long to bring an old god back to life. What I have to do with it, I have no clue. But _they_ think I have a connection somewhere."

Link pondered that. He didn't know much about old gods. The people of Lurelin were devout followers of the Three: Din, Nayru, and Farore. There were no others, as far as he was concerned.

Instead, he decided to change the topic.

"I could tell you were a noble."

She didn't seem to mind the shift. "Oh, could you?"

Link hesitated, but he steeled his courage and hovered his hand over Zelda's, giving her ample time to move away. But she just waited, watching him.

"Your hands are soft," he finally said, though that wasn't what had tipped him off. And, gods help him, he ran his thumb along her mesmerizing skin. The feel of it was so unlike everyone's here. They were relatively unused, uncracked, soft, pale. His were worn, tan, hard, calloused. He could hold a wooden harpoon or a sword without his hands even feeling it. But he imagined that if she came up against the friction of the wood for too long, she'd suffer easily.

"And yours aren't," she agreed, mimicking Link's movements. He stiffened as her fingers traced an intrigued pattern across his palm. "What happened here?" she asked, running along a large scar he had.

"Fishhook when I was ten. Went clean through." He flipped his hand to show her a smaller scar on the other side. "I guess it's kind of ugly, isn't it?"

She let go of him and sat back up, shrugging the shoulder of her shirt lower. Link stiffened, watching her in a trance, unsure what she was doing.

Finally, she pulled the rest of the fabric down just enough to reveal a very large scar running down from just under her collar. Link couldn't even guess how big it had been.

It was old, and well-healed, but still stood out.

"I was attacked by a boar when I was about fourteen. It got me twice with its tusks before they were able to get me away and take it down. We were just out in Hyrule Field. I should perhaps take this as a sign that I was meant to just stay home all the time. Now _this_ is an ugly scar."

"No," Link said too quickly. "You survived a boar attack. That scar isn't ugly."

"Neither is yours."

Link smirked, grabbing his bowl and taking a long sip before looking back at Zelda. She looked so sincere, and her eyes bored into his, like she was looking straight through his skin and into his soul.

She reached out a hand, her nails brushing Link's neck. "What's this?"

He tensed up, a shiver rushing through him as her fingers kept brushing his skin. But they were wrapped around the rope that was tied around his neck. "Can I see?"

He swallowed hard but nodded.

She pulled the long rope out from under his shirt, staring at the animal tooth that was secured at the bottom. "What kind of animal is this?"

"Shark. It's a long story."

"Will you tell it to me?"

Link smiled at her eagerness but shook his head. "I'm well-known for keeping the details of that particular encounter under wraps."

She narrowed her eyes mischievously. "I'll get it out of you yet."

She adjusted the necklace so the knot was at the back of his neck, and tucked it back under his shirt.

His hand found hers, only their fingertips brushing.

Link swallowed. The whole thing was surreal. Zelda was a stranger. Few people would call Link "touchy", but he couldn't help the way his hand gravitated towards Zelda. And to his relief, it seemed she might feel the same.

"Link!" a small voice called.

Aryll burst into the room, looking immediately at their joint hands just a second before they'd pulled apart from each other. She smiled smugly. "Dad needs help hauling something. He said he's sorry, but it'll only take a minute."

Link glanced at Zelda, his look screaming that he didn't want to leave her.

"Go," she said hastily. "I highly enjoy your company, but you don't need to sit with me all day. Go do your things and don't worry about me."

He nodded, grabbing Aryll's shoulders. "This is my sister, Aryll."

Zelda beamed and nodded a happy greeting at the young girl. "Hello Aryll."

"Hi," Aryll whispered, too shy around strangers for much more.

Link ruffled his sister's hair, but he looked up at Zelda. "Would you mind if I stopped by again later? Or are you sick of me already?

Zelda shrugged happily. "I'd love if you'd come visit me, Link."

He nodded and followed Aryll outside.

"Do you like her?" she asked without preamble or restraint.

Link rolled his eyes, but turned for one more look at Maiamai's hut.

"Yes."

He made a face and realized he shouldn't. This girl was noble. She was going to go back where she belonged when she was well, and he'd go back to fishing and fighting.

He shouldn't like her.

But he was starting to realize that there were a few things in life that were simply out of his control.


	4. Chapter 4

It wasn’t difficult for Link to get into the routine of visiting Zelda.

On that first day, he’d learned about her home life. As a noble, she was far more engaged in public service than anything he’d ever been involved in, but he liked learning about the events she’d organized, and hearing about the friends awaiting her in Castle Town.

He’d dared to ask if she was promised to anyone back home.

She wasn’t.

The next day, he’d gone early and found her attempting to eat solid food again. The bruise on her throat was much better, and she no longer looked quite so tired.

And her voice.

Link wanted to listen to her talk all day. Her voice had healed, and he reveled in its melodic sound, like one of the goddesses themselves were talking through her.

“Link?” she asked when he’d simply been focusing on her too intently. His name on her lips was selfishly one of his favorite things to hear her say.

“Yes? Sorry, what?”

“Your parents’ names... I don’t know them.”

“Oh, what have you been calling them?” he chuckled.

He was on the bed with her, lounging on the opposite end. For the first time, he didn’t feel like she was a stranger at all. It had always been in the back of his mind: a familiar _stranger_. But not any longer.

“I’ve been saying ma’am to your mom, and your dad I haven’t needed to address directly.”

He slouched down, getting more comfortable. “Thressa and Alannon.”

The next time they’d visited her, she’d been sure to address them by name. Their eyes landed suspiciously on their son, but they’d otherwise had a good time.

Aryll had brought her friends to see the mysterious girl from Central Hyrule. Zelda was unsurprisingly good with the kids in the village. She was good with everyone.

Other villagers visited, but Link was a constant. He’d begun eating his meals with her, and staying until the sun had set. He’d leave to train or to take care of a few things, but he returned. He always returned.

The next day, she’d been determined to stand up.

Her unused legs wobbled as she clung to the bed. Maiamai was already out doing her daily morning chores as usual, and Link had yet to arrive. But Zelda was determined to finally start moving again. Now that her energy was back and her body was recovering, she wanted to move. She wanted to see where she’d landed. She’d never even seen the ocean before having her face shoved into it. And she wanted to start living again. She’d spent so much time in fear or ill that she’d feared kylo was something she’d forgotten.

As for her body itself though, it had been days of disuse, and before that, overuse. Her legs weren’t ready to suddenly become weight bearing at once, and she hit the ground hard, her knees banging roughly against the planked wood flooring.

For a long moment, Zelda just sat there. She wondered if there had been permanent damage. She wondered if the gods’ warnings from her dreams would come true. She hadn’t slept well, after all. Her dream had been of death. Death in this small hut. Perhaps that was her fate.

Zelda couldn’t bring herself to her feet, but she managed to crawl to the doorway. She grabbed the wooden doorframe and hoisted herself up to one foot, breathing heavily and panting from the effort.

“Whoa!” Link hissed, hurrying up the steps of the hut when he saw her struggling far away from the bed.

“Wait!” she called before he could help her. “Let me do this.”

Link’s hands hovered near her, though he didn’t grab her. He watched her take a deep breath and pull again, making it up to her feet before she stumbled into Link.

He caught her, and she rested her head against his shoulder. “Yeah, now you can help. I needed to stand up on my own, and now I feel accomplished. And this feels much better than falling.”

He chuckled and wrapped his arm around her waist, keeping her upright, though he angled her towards the village that she’d gotten so poor a view of thus far.

“Thanks,” she muttered, leaning into him some more.

He couldn’t be sure if it was because she _needed_ to, or if she simply _wanted_ to. But either way, he held her upright and began explaining where everything was: his house, friends, shops, the best fishing spots, the weapons.

Zelda wanted to see it all, and the distance no longer satisfied her.

Link spent the day literally by her side, making their way around the village slowly and steadily. He’d earned smug glances from half the villagers, his own family included, but he almost didn’t mind. In many ways, it was worth it just to spend some more time with her.

The next day, Link learned that Zelda was able to walk on her own again.

He was on the beach with Aryll. He’d done most of his chores for the day, and those he had left required the fish that his parents would bring back to the house in a few hours. His father was on the dock, his lines on the other end of the beach. He needed more bait. So he watched, laughing at his children as they both choked on wet sand that they were throwing at each other.

“Watch your sister’s eyes!”

Link rolled his; no one was concerned for _his_ eyes.

Aryll tackled him into the sea, and he wiped sand from his hair. But when he narrowed his eyes, she knew she was doomed. He was too fast, and he had her around the waist, tossing her into the deeper waters and pulling off his shirt that kept riding up and catching all the sand before he dove under the water, clinging to the bottom to keep himself down low. His eyes stung from the salt water, but he found Aryll’s small foot kicking to keep her afloat and pulled her under with him.

Bubbles blurred his vision from her surprise, but he wasn’t concerned as soon as she retaliated by pushing at his shoulder. It had no force to it while under the water, but Link laughed, more bubbles rising to the surface as he did. He hoisted her back up to the surface so she could get some air and cough it out.

But he’s spent years in these waters, and he could hold his breath for longer. He made a circle around Aryll, letting himself rise to the surface, though he kept his face under, much like a shark. Her feet kicked him in the ribs, and that was enough for him to spit the rest of his air from his lungs.

He popped back up and took a breath, pushing his hair from his face. He pulled the elastic out and re-tied it behind him, keeping his legs kicking as he did.

And when he blinked the salt water from his eyes, he saw Zelda standing at the water’s edge, her arms crossed, watching Link with a fond smile and a not-so-hidden look of amusement.

Link was thankful he was already neck-deep in the ocean. It allowed him the freedom to blush deep without worrying if she could see. He just ducked his chin under, intent on covering every part of himself that he could until he could calm down, wondering just how long she’d been there.

Zelda walked onto the dock, smiling at Link’s father as he passed with his bait to return to his reels. He flashed Link a knowing look.

“Aryll, come help me bait!”

“Okay!”

Gods, his parents.

It left Link alone with Zelda.

She sat on the wooden dock that bobbed with her weight, and tucked her feet into the water, giggling at the unfamiliar feeling.

“It’s much nicer when one isn’t having her face forced into it,” Zelda mused.

Link’s brows scrunched together, and he shook his head, leaning against the dock. “How do you joke about it?”

“I either joke, or I remember it as a traumatic kidnapping. There’s one narrative I prefer over the other. One will ruin me internally, and the other helps me heal.”

“I wish I could do that.”

“It’s a talent,” Zelda joked, giggling nervously.

Link leaned up on the deck, stretching his arms as he did. He didn’t miss the way Zelda’s eyes followed his bare skin as far as they could. And she began to turn red.

Link knew the pain all too well.

“Come in,” he said, stopping himself before he could do something stupid like run his hand along her leg that dangled just in front of his face.

Zelda’s face tightened into a concerned look, and she shook her head quickly. “I can’t. There’s no ocean in Central Hyrule. It’s rivers and dirty ponds or places where swimming isn’t allowed because we get our drinking water and food from there.”

“You can’t swim? Is that what you’re telling me?”

Zelda shrugged. “Not everyone has the luxury of growing up by the oceanside.”

Link bowed his head. “Forgive me, Lady Zelda. I forgot that growing up as a noble isn’t actually a luxury.”

Zelda grinned at his sarcasm. She knew it was a playful jab: true, though not ill-intended. “Besides, I’d have been scolded for burning my skin in the sun.” She looked over his tanned skin, though she once again got stuck on his muscles.

He could see a group of his friends walking by, watching him. They’d all made it known that they thought Link was hanging around Zelda because of her looks, but Link didn’t know how to explain to them that, though it had only been a short time, there was something _more_.

If he took Zelda out of the village right now, intent on showing her a place where he thought she’d feel happiest, he was almost positive that he could find that place. In all of Hyrule, he’d be able to pinpoint the place that made her happy. If she were to tell him she was hungry, he was sure he could make her favorite meal. Something inside him _knew_ her, and it knew her well.

It wasn’t the prickle of seeing someone familiar; it was a deeply rooted knowledge of who she was as a person, like he’d known her for many lifetimes and not just days.

Perhaps that was why he ended up losing control of himself and lightly grabbed her calf, tugging without any force, but enough that it was indulging in the temptation he felt. His fingers burned at the contact, and Zelda seemed to feel it too, tensing and breathing faster.

“I won’t let you drown,” Link promised, feeling his chest tighten as he ran his fingers up her leg, teasing her with his touch.

Zelda scooted forward a hair. “Are you going to do to me what you did to Aryll?”

“No. I promise. Besides, you can stand from here, if you really want. Just move to the left a step, and you’re completely on your feet. Trust me.”

With a silent curse and a prayer to the three Goddesses, she grabbed his shoulders and pushed off the dock, grabbing him immediately.

She started giggling uncontrollably, nervous laughter bubbling over as she wrapped her arms around Link’s neck, brushing against his necklace, which was the only thing he wore above his waist.

She’d seen the villagers already. Very few of them seemed self-conscious. Men walked around without their shirts, and women looked ready to jump into the water at any moment. It wasn’t the stuffy dresses and tight-laced corsets that she was familiar with. It wasn’t silk and satin. It was makeshift rope as a necklace string and never wearing shoes. It was letting their skin burn in the sun and floating through the ocean like they were born for it.

She pulled back to look at the shark’s tooth necklace, gratuitously running her hand along his neck so she could cup the tooth in her palm. She felt Link shiver, despite the harsh sun and warm water and held on tighter with one hand so she could run another along the tooth.

He winced as she accidently pulled his ponytail in the process of adjusting herself to stay mostly above the water, but he made no move to ask her to move her arm. Instead, he held her tighter.

“Sorry,” she said, smoothing his hair down.

“Don’t be,” he murmured, far too smitten for his own good.

For the next several days, Link and Zelda grew closer. She’d opened up to him about home, and he’d been intrigued by every she told him about noble life. Likewise, he showed her the day-to-day tasks that happened in the small village. They fished together, and she watched Link and the others train. When she wasn’t with him, she with someone else, learning about basket weaving, or—as Aryll liked to show her—painting. Link especially liked when Aryll made Zelda paint, because each time he’d return to the hut, they were both covered in colors. Zelda had even caught his leg with the tip of her brush, leaving a blue pattern on his knee. And Link had grabbed her, returning the favor with by taking Aryll’s brush and running a yellow line down Zelda’s face, both laughing all the while. The light feel of the brush had nothing on the softness of Link around her, though. And his every touch made her shudder until he graced even her waking dreams with his presence.

It was the several days later that he found her sitting on the docks as the sun rose over the horizon. He considered letting her be, to give her some solitude, but there was a pull towards her. There was always a pull.

He stood behind her, wondering if he should announce himself or just sit. But it turned out neither was necessary.

“Sometimes, in Central Hyrule, I feel like the Goddesses are just stories.” She never looked back at him, but she knew he was there. She knew it was him. “But not here. Here, it’s so easy to feel them all around. That sunset. That’s Farore. Gods, she’s beautiful out here.”

Link smiled. “We pray to them a lot out here. When you’re removed from everyone else, you rely on yourselves, and the gods. You can feel their hands on you often.”

“Is it bad that at times, I can feel Din’s hand? Like with the Yiga. I could feel her hold on me, ready to pull at any moment. I’m so afraid of dying that sometimes I can feel it all around, taunting me.”

“Well,” Link said, casually holding his hand out. “You can keep her at bay with some exercise. Care to join me for a run?”

She finally turned to him, her eyes lit by the rising sun. She stared longingly at his hand, but her gaze quickly drifted to his feet. “You’re barefoot. You can’t run.”

He shook his hand in front of her face until she took it. “You city-folk are all wimps. We’re on a beach.”

“Wh-what if we step on a shell? Or a sharp rock?”

“Then one of us carries the other back here to get it wrapped and stitched.”

Zelda laughed, shaking her head as she weighed her options. “Don’t make that sound so appealing, Link. I might just find a rock just so you’ll carry me back.”

He didn’t let go of her, even as she was on her feet. Instead, they walked hand-in-hand to the far side of the beach. “How do you know I won’t find a nice sharp shell first? I’m intrigued at the thought of you trying to get me back here.”

Zelda pursed her lips. “Okay, how about just a short race? I only just started walking again.”

“Where t—”

Link didn’t get the chance to finish before Zelda took off, a giddy laugh following where she ran along the sand. Her heels dug into the sand with every step, and a spray of pebblets shot up each time.

Link chased her, throwing his head back in the wind and the rush that drove him forward. He gained on her quickly and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her backwards. She yelped and started to laugh harder as they both went backwards.

Link willingly took the brunt of it, letting out a hard breath first when he hit the ground, and again when Zelda’s full force landed on him. But just having her close was enough to intoxicate him until he forgot the throbbing soreness in his elbows, or the stupid way he’d fallen on his back. He felt none of it.

Not when Zelda turned so she was hovering over his face, her hair cascading down to frame her face that was already backlit by the orange of the rising sun. She looked like a goddess in that moment.

Zelda ran a hand through Link’s hair several times, completely entranced by how soft and light it was. And she liked how he looked up at her with hooded eyes, equally mystified.

“Link,” she said in a low voice, as if she were being careful not to wake someone or shatter the spell they felt like they were under. When her hand stilled, he leaned into it in response, acknowledging her. “Thank your for finding me.”

“No,” he breathed, “Thank _you_ for finding _me._ ”

Link felt himself arching up at the same time that Zelda came crashing down. Their lips met, and it was like the world had both stopped and started all at once.

Like a dream suddenly remembered after it had been long forgotten, Link felt like he’d done this with Zelda countless times. She was familiar against his lips, though that made no sense to him. He’d never kissed anyone. He wasn’t even sure how he knew what to do. He’d only ever kissed his family. And this _certainly_ wasn’t the same.

Zelda pulled away first, her head jerking back like she realized what she’d done.

“Goddess, I’m so sorry! That was… I was just so… that was forward of me.”

“No,” Link said quickly, managing to sit up, bringing her with him. “Don’t be sorry.”

“No?”

“No.”

Zelda smiled this time, running her hand through his sandy hair. “I’ve never done that. At all,” she admitted. “So I guess… maybe that’s what I’m sorry for: that it wasn’t good.”

“What?” he asked, this time moving her fully off of him so they were both leaning into the sand. “I’ve never done that either, so obviously I don’t have much to compare it to, but that was incredible. And it felt familiar.”

“You’ve never…? And I felt that too. I…” she trailed off, trying to stop herself from stuttering further. “That was nice.”

That had Link laughing. His chest was still madly fluttering, and he couldn’t help that it came out in amused and anxious laughter. “It was nice.”

“Nice enough… to want to do again?” she inquired. Her face contorted as she processed her own words, the painfully awkward way she phrased them.

But if Link noticed, he kindly ignored it and nodded instead, wrapping his hand behind her neck. He could feel her pulse trying to break free of her skin, and he gave her a gentle push towards him as they met in the middle once again.

This time, it wasn’t rushed or a starving ache that only the other could satisfy. This time, it was slow and languid. It was the way they couldn’t get enough of the slow torture they were each inflicting on the other. It was the buildup that had them gasping into each other as they both needed air, too intoxicated with the other to remember to breathe.

It was Link laying her back, hovering over _her_ this time as he moved his lips to her jaw, and then her neck, and her shoulder.

“Hey!”

This time, they _did_ collide, banging into each other with a hard thud while they scrambled to sit up.

Numan was standing over them, too smug. “Saw you two head off this way a while ago, but there are some monsters camped further down the beach that we’re taking care of later this week, right Link? Don’t want you getting hurt.”

Link glanced first at Zelda, relieved to see her as red as he knew he was, and then at his friend. “You came over here to tell me something I already know?”

Numan took a few steps back. “When I saw you two head this way, I figured better I see anything amiss than Aryll, who also volunteered to remind you not to stray.”

Zelda covered her mouth, fighting back a laugh as she turned to Link. He let out a relieved sigh and turned to Zelda, unable to bite back his own. He threw his head back and let all his happiness bubble up. It was unfamiliar to feel so light and so perfect, even if just for the moment.

He’d never known the feeling of being whole until he’d met Zelda. There was little doubt in his mind that the Goddesses had sent her, and that she was his other half, the one who completed him.

She’d had no trouble making her way into Link’s life with ease. The more she did that, the more he wondered how he’d ever return to life _without_ her. She had to return home someday.

But to his selfish pleasure, she took her time with that.

Link found that at some point, his subconscious self had been coming to terms with a brutally obvious realization: he was beginning to fall in love with Zelda.

And he didn’t want to fight a second of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am posting this early in the day for the first time ever because YOU BETTER BELIEVE I AM TAKING A BREAK FROM WRITING SO I CAN PLAY AOC ALL WEEKEND LONG AS SOON AS IT COMES OUT!!!


	5. Chapter 5

Din stood on the shores of the beach, watching Link and Zelda as they strolled along, feet bare and digging into the sand as they laughed in the setting sun. Farore breathed some wind onto them, enough so their hair wildly went into their eyes. And Nayru greedily lapped up every laugh between them as they worked to move the hair from the other’s face.

“They are together, like they should always be. Doesn’t it make your heart soar?” Nayru asked, addressing Din, though she never made a move to turn.

“You stole them from me, so no. I would rather have studied them in the Sacred Realm for longer.”

“Don’t be a brat. They’re perfect. Take your curse away. Please.”

For a moment, Din actually considered it. She was the Goddess of Death, but that didn’t mean she longed for all life to end. It was simply unavoidable. And when they found those souls who tugged at the other, it was always something interesting to watch play out.

But Din could hold a grudge, and Nayru had stolen what was rightfully hers.

And nearly two human decades later, Din still couldn’t find it in her to forgive.

“No. The girl will die when it pleases me.”

“Then let it ‘please you’ after they’ve lived a full, happy life.”

“That’s my decision. Not yours.”

They looked back, and days had passed again. They watched silently from the edge of reality, enjoying the music that the villagers played while others danced around a large bonfire on the beach. And they watched Link beckon Zelda closer, heedless of the eyes on them.

He’d gotten used to the stares, and the accusations from others. He’d tuned out the warnings that she’d have to leave him and return home some day soon. But he and Zelda had gotten close, something beyond a mere physical attraction. He knew her family pets, and she knew where his grandparents’ graves were. She’d cried on his shoulder after a particularly bad nightmare, and he’d shared his own fears to remind her that she wasn’t alone. She’d asked if they might have a future together in some way, and he’d agreed.

And he was no longer afraid of making a fool of himself around her.

He shimmied closer to her, giving her arm a light tug while his eyes glistened, inviting her in.

She smiled. If it was just Link, she wouldn’t have minded. “Your dances and mine are very different! I’d embarrass myself.”

Zelda looked around. Everyone was free, unhindered by judgement or ‘proper etiquette.’ There were no straight backs and arms, no stiff necks and stuffy moves and music counts. They danced as they pleased, and very few of them looked like they were doing even remotely close to the same dance.

But Link knew that Zelda longed to try. The wistful look in her eyes said as much. So he held out his hand for her. “Embarrass yourself with _me_ , then.”

She took a deep breath and then his hand.

He led her to the fire and started to dance.

Like everyone else, he was loose and unashamed as he practically skipped around, moving to the steady drumbeat.

Zelda bobbed her head, and Link grabbed her arms, pulling them away from her body. “Come on, I know you can do it. I saw you hula-hoop with Aryll the other day. I know you know how to move your hips.”

The words were out before he could stop himself, and he was grateful for the darkness as his skin burned. He could see her mouth drop open. “Link! Were you watching me?”

He’d already dug his hole; why not make it deeper?

“Yes,” he said with a nervous chuckle as he tentatively placed his hands on her hips, urging her to move with the music.

If it had been anyone else, not only would she have pushed them away, but she’d have been offended at their attempts to guide her hips the way they wanted her to move. But with Link, it wasn’t like that. It wasn’t a power play, like she’d been subject to by the nobles at home. It was him wanting to be close to her, as close as their situation allowed.

They were still in public though, and Zelda could feel that. Link, it seemed, didn’t. Such was their different ways of life.

“Did you make him so embarrassing?” Din asked to Nayru as they watched on, unseen by the mortals.

Nayru grinned. “I am the Goddess of Life, and he has my blessing. Life is more than just being alive, and he knows that. He’s unafraid to live. The poor girl can probably subconsciously feel your hand on her at all times, threatening to rip it all away. It’s why she’s so cautious.”

“Stop trying to get me to change my mind, sister. The more you ask, the more resolved I am to leave my mark on her.”

“Help the poor girl, at least. I cannot touch her. She’s dying inside. Ease that death a bit.”

Din let out a childish groan, but she wasn’t complaining, per se. She didn’t like being told what to do, though the idea itself was appealing. Watching their favorite mortals and having a hand in their actions was thrilling.

She walked over to where Zelda was stiffly dancing with Link and prodded her in the back. Zelda jerked forward into Link before she found herself moving unhindered by embarrassment.

Link grinned, moving with her.

Din crossed her arms and whispered into Zelda’s ear, looking to have a little fun. Playing with the humans was one of her favorite pastimes.

And as soon as she stepped back, Zelda reached behind Link, tugging him closer to her as she ran her hands through his hair, pulling the elastic that kept most of it tied back until it had all fallen around his shoulders. She looped it around her wrist so Link couldn’t easily fix it, and her hands were back in his hair, marveling at how soft it could be, even without the care that most nobles put into their hair.

“Din,” Nayru scolded, but it wasn’t without a laugh. “You shouldn’t interfere that much.”

“You want to as well. I can tell. I can always tell. Besides, I just told her to have some fun with him.”

Nayru made a face, but walked over to Link. “Find some privacy,” she whispered.

Din laughed and clapped for her sister as they watched Link gently lead Zelda away from the rest of the villagers.

Farore rolled her eyes, letting her hand run through the waves. “This is why I like nature better. You don’t need me to play matchmaker for you, do you?”

The water didn’t answer, but she laughed as it lapped at her hands.

Din and Nayru didn’t care for the ocean. Their business was people. So they followed Link and Zelda as they headed up the hills, past the pasture, and moved against the cliffside where they could see the bonfire on the beach, and still hear the music, but no one would find them in the darkness.

But to everyone’s surprise, except perhaps Din, Zelda wasted no time pushing Link against the cliff and kissing him.

For one with a stiff upbringing as hers had been, her own intensity caught her off guard. And while she certainly had been _hoping_ , she’d been just as surprised by how eagerly Link responded to her kiss. It was tongues and teeth and sloppy and desperate, as though it had been hundreds of years since their last kiss, and they longed to be with one another once more.

Link was grateful that they’d escaped from the prying eyes and ears of their fellow villagers. Zelda’s hands played with his long ears, and he felt an embarrassing sound escape from deep in his throat. And his lips moved to her neck, unwilling to break apart from her for a second. He could feel her gasp as he let his teeth graze her skin, no pressure, but her nerves reacted all the same. Zelda fisted his hair and gave it a light tug, bringing that same sound out from him.

“Did you tell her to do all that?” Nayru asked.

But Din shook her head, impressed. “Not this time.”

Link held Zelda tightly as he lowered them both into the grass. Zelda finally started to giggle as Link rolled beside her.

“Not too bad, Link.”

He snorted. “Is that the best compliment you can give a poor guy?”

“I didn’t realize I needed to stroke your ego.”

Link turned his head to face her, studying her fine features in the moonlight and the backlit glow of the fire. She felt the pressure of his gaze and turned to him as well. And for the longest time, neither needed to speak a word.

But Link couldn’t help himself. “Zelda?”

“Hrmm?”

“I think I’m falling in love with you.”

She had to blink a few times before she could settle her gaze. “What?”

“I don’t want you to go.”

“Link…”

Nayru crossed her arms and gave Din a triumphant look. “Subconsciously, he knows she’s got your mark of death. He’s wasting no time.”

“He doesn’t know. Stop trying to sound superior.”

Link propped himself on his arm to get a better look at her. “Zelda, do you feel it too?”

“Yes,” she said quickly, so he wouldn’t doubt her hesitation as a lack of reciprocation. Because despite herself, she was falling in love with him too. “But you know I have to return home. I have to help my father. He needs me. Before I was taken, he said he had something he needed me to do for him. I have to go home someday soon, if only to ease his worry.”

Link brushed his hand across her forehead. “I just don’t want to lose you.”

“And I don’t want to leave you. I’ve told you before, my home is… different from here. Here, everyone is free to do whatever they wish. You wouldn’t be allowed there, not the same way you’ve all welcomed me here.”

“I’ll come as your servant, if that’s what it takes.”

“Link, you’re _far_ more to me than a servant.” She brought her head up, and he met her halfway, letting her lips explain the rest of her sentence. She pulled him to her, and his fingers brushed along the skin of her stomach where her shirt had ridden up. Her hands trailed down his neck, stopping over the rope necklace he wore.

She pulled away slightly. “Will you tell me the shark story?”

“No,” he laughed. “I like to keep you guessing.”

“Not even for the woman you love?”

Link smirked and sat back, biting his lip. “Not even then. I have a reputation to keep, and I’m not telling that story for that reason.”

“Did you scream in terror as it swam towards you?”

“Don’t look so excited at the thought,” Link jested, running his hand higher up her side.

Zelda laughed, but she laid her head back in the grass soon after. “We’ll think of something, okay, Link? For now, just stare at the stars with me.”

“I can do that,” he breathed, stunned to see her move closer and curl up against him, getting comfortable by his side, despite his confession.

Din knelt over them, her hand hovering just over Zelda. She could do it. She could lift the curse she’d placed on the girl. She could give them a happily ever after. Even she enjoyed a happy ending. Death would find everyone in time, and she was eternal. She _could_ wait.

“Please, Din, do it.”

And at the sound of Nayru’s voice, Din shook her head and stood back up. “Your incessant nagging just cost that girl her life. I was going to do it. Now I won’t. I have others to attend to, as I expect you do as well. Do your job, sister, and I’ll do mine.”

Nayru disappeared in a huff, but Din stayed behind, looking at the soul-bound pair.

How she longed to take pity on them. She wanted to see if the world would spin the wrong way just to keep them together. And only she had the power to break them apart. That kind of raw strength was intoxicating, and Din reveled in it.

But most of all, she still longed to see her sister pay for stealing her two light souls. And _that_ was something she could put above all else.

Din closed her eyes and took a step, finding herself wandering through a forest when she opened them again, rather than the hidden hillside of the village. She’d appeared near a familiar man, someone she couldn’t place, but _knew._ And it took her a moment to realize who she’d appeared next to.

The Yiga who’d tried to kill Zelda. The one who would have succeeded if Link hadn’t been there.

Before she could move, she asked herself once more: was it worth it? Did she want to watch the lives of her precious souls unfold the way they were meant to, or did she want to punish her sister.

“The girl,” Din whispered, leaning into the man with her mind made up. “The girl you were after, she’s in the village still. Lurelin. She’s there. It’s time to call in what’s mine. Do what you’d intended to do. Finish your job at any cost.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dun DuN DUNNNN!! Hope you liked the fluff while it lasted...


	6. Chapter 6

Link sat on the steps just outside his home, watching Aryll and Zelda run around a fire with a few of the village children as they played some game. Zelda’s laugh rang out before she let out a playful scream, tackled to the ground by a young girl who’d grabbed her by the leg until Zelda collapsed. Three of the children piled onto her, pinning her down.

“She’s very pretty,” a voice said, sitting beside him. His mother. “I can see why you like her.”

“It’s more than that. It’s like I’ve known her forever. I can talk to her about anything.”

His mother hummed. “You spend most of your time with her every day. Have you told her you like her? I saw you dancing at the bonfire the other day.”

Link leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He was too embarrassed to look at her, too red. But of all people, his mother was the one person who wouldn’t joke about his feelings for Zelda. And he needed _someone._ Even if it meant confiding in his mother. “We’ve kissed. And maybe I told her I was falling in love with her. Gods, now I feel stupid. She said she felt it too, but never said the words back. And she still wants to go home.”

His mother smiled to herself, though she kept her composure for her son’s sake. “If you left us, would you want to come home? Or would you be happy to leave us and never see us again?”

“I’d… but that’s not fair. Of course I’d want to come home.”

His mother chuckled and rested her hand on Link’s arm. “There’s your answer. Don’t fault her for missing her friends and family.”

Link looked back at Zelda. She was trying to escape from the pile of children. Her eyes met his and she reached out a hand. “Are you going to leave me to my fate, Link?” she called out, mock desperation as she screamed under the pile.

He snorted and turned to his mother. “Thank you. I think I’m going to go save her from Aryll’s gang.”

“I’m happy for you, Link. Just remember the big picture.”

He gave her an awkward nod, still too embarrassed to feel comfortable speaking so freely about it with her. Then, he sprinted to the beach, tackling Aryll to the ground. He cradled her as they toppled into the sand, taking the impact himself, laughing as his head dipped into the water. He shook out his hair and crawled over to Zelda, slowly pulling children off of her until he could grab Zelda’s outstretched hand.

Then he, too, was buried beneath a pile of screaming children.

Their days went on like that: a quiet sense of normalcy. Zelda’s presence in the village became _normal_ and it was expected that she’d be around now.

So no one expected anyone but her to alter that.

One night, after taking a long walk under the clearest night sky, Link and Zelda had parted with a kiss before he’d gone back home, and she’d returned to Mama Maiamai.

Link laid back in his hammock, ready to drift off to sleep, when something kept his eyes open, like someone unseen was shaking him awake.

He looked around to see if it was his sister or his parents, but there was no one around him. Groggily, he looked around at the undisturbed room before glancing outside. And, though he had no reason to believe anything was wrong, his feet began to move towards Maiamai’s hut, guided by an unseen string. As he walked, he could see the figure of Maiamai resting in a peaceful meditation on the dock, far from the hut.

He could hear the stillness in the air; unusual for Lurelin. The waves were quiet, the crickets were still. The breeze was barely a flutter, as if Farore wanted him to be able to hear everything he possibly could. And he kept walking, guided by the pull towards the hut.

And was met by a shadowy figure emerging from the tent flaps.

Link gasped, surprised at first by the shape of a man, burly and far larger than Link.

And in his hand was a knife, blood dripping off the blade.

The man swung it at Link, and he just barely managed to move aside in time. The whoosh of the blade in the air hung heavy, and Link stumbled back, trying to keep his feet beneath him as he kept jerking away from the incessant swings of the knife. It was only when Link’s back finally hit something that he turned around.

His feet were guided by the Goddesses, that was the only explanation for how he managed to crash into the long spears that the majority of the warriors used. He preferred the sword, but he didn’t lack training with the spear.

Link’s eyes darted to Zelda’s tent at a suddenly loud wail of pain. Not a second later, her body crashed down through the tent flap, clutching her side as she breathed loudly amidst her attempts to call for help that came out as little more than soft shrieks of noise.

“Help!” Link called out as loud as he could, raising the spear in time to block another swing of the knife.

He planted the butt of the spear into the sand and used it to give him the leverage he needed to kick the assailant back with a hard thud. With a push, he knocked all the weapons over, letting them clatter noisily to the ground in a sound that would surely wake the village. He retrieved his spear and spun it back into place in his hands, his stance finally slipping into one of offense rather than the stumbling retreat he’d made earlier.

Several people heard the commotion, his cries for help, the weapons falling, and ran over to help.

Link didn’t see who was moving, who went to Zelda and who went to aid him. All he saw was the man with the bloody knife, shrouded in an aura of red, possibly tinged from Link’s own rage.

The colors were blinding; he jabbed out at the man, his instinct and training taking over any rational thoughts that were in his mind. He could _feel_ the resistance on the tip of the spear as it cut the man’s flesh. He could see the blood. But when he looked back on that moment, he didn’t remember moving in so close that he could feel the man’s last breath. He didn’t realize that the man’s body fell into him, impaled as it were, and that Link had thrown him and his weapon off to the side, leaving the mess for the others to deal with.

His feet took him towards Zelda.

There were several villagers huddled over her: Maiamai and his mother among them. Link pushed through so he was kneeling over Zelda. 

Zelda’s breathing was shallow and sharp, short and frantic. Her eyes darted everywhere, unable to focus. Unwitting tears were falling as she shook in pain, her hand and others’ still covering her wound.

Link could still see the red aura in his vision, one that covered Zelda this time. His hand shook as he pushed hair from her face. “You’re okay. You’re going to be okay.”

Desperate eyes glance up at Maiamai, begging her to do something. To do _anything_. But she shook her head in resignation. The wound was fatal.

Panic seized Link, and he stumbled to his feet, to Maiamai’s cabinet of herbs and cloth bandages. Link had very little idea of what he was doing, but he threw several things into a mortar and began to crush them.

“Link,” his mother’s soothing voice said, stopping his hands. “I’m sorry.”

“No,” he grumbled, grabbing a handful of bandages and kneeling back down to Zelda’s exposed wound, packing it with shaking hands. “No, she’ll be fine.”

As the bandage pushed past her skin, Zelda cried out, her hand flying to Link’s as if to stop him. Then, her head lolled to the side, passing out from the pain.

Stopping only long enough to register his shock, Link pressed his hand to her heart and then ran it up to her neck. “She’s not dead. She’s fine.”

He grabbed water and poured it onto the wound, wiping the blood away before looking around. Spotting a needle, he stumbled over to the table, knocking several other items in the process.

“Link,” his mother tried again.

“If you’re not going to help me, then get out!”

There was bite to the words, but his mother and Maiamai left with only concern on their faces, giving him time to process it all alone.

“Zelda, get _up!_ ” he hissed as he moved back beside her.

“She can’t, Link.”

“She can! She’s _fine!_ ”

“She may be breathing for now, but that wound will kill her soon. The girl isn’t going to make it. Accept it.”

“I won’t let her—” he looked up. The tent was empty.

“It’s time.”

The empty space before him filled with the red aura that emanated off of Zelda and her killer. Flecks of red began to swirl until the figure of a woman clad in a long, flowing dress appeared before him. She was almost incorporeal, though her basic shape was still visible. And every move was made as if she were in water, flowing and majestic.

“No!” Link said, moving closer to Zelda despite the mystical presence. When her hand reached out for Zelda, Link threw his body over hers, keeping himself off her wound, but shielding her nonetheless.

The presence sighed. “Sister, help me. I cannot touch the boy.”

A blue figure appeared beside him from nowhere, identical in every way but the color to the first entity. “You had to do it, Din, didn’t you? You couldn’t have let me have something?”

Link’s wide eyes darted between them, frightened and confused at the same time.

Both entities stared at each other for a long time, a challenge, if Link had ever seen one.

“Link,” the blue spirit said. “Link, come. She’s lost. I’m so sorry, but it’s time for Din’s power to take her. You, on the other hand, have my love and protection. She cannot touch you. So you must move for her.”

“No.”

Din scoffed and impatiently rolled her eyes. “I can outlast you, boy. I will stand here forever until you move.”

“No!”

“Nayru?”

“Link,” she said again. “Please, come with me. I can ease your suffering a bit.”

“I collect my souls, boy. Hers is mine to claim.”

Link tightened his hold on Zelda. “You can’t.”

“I can.”

A warm hand was on him, urging him away, too fierce. He’d be unable to resist it as it guided him, forcing his limbs to go weak as the clung to Zelda.

“No! Don’t kill her!”

“She’s been dead since she was born,” Din said, kneeling so she was closer, waiting for Nayru to move Link just enough.

“No!” he screamed, struggling harder. As Din’s hand went to wrap around Zelda’s wrist, Link shoved her away, the touch of his protection burning.

“Stupid boy!” she hissed, pulling back. “She is mine, now accept it! You must accept that death is here for her _now._ Your dreams of a long life with her were just that: dreams. _Accept it_. Her heart has but a few more beats left. She’s mine.”

Link turned to Nayru, to the bright blue warmth. “Give her your protection!”

“I can’t.”

“Then give her mine!”

Din smirked. “It doesn’t work that way. Nayru cannot touch her, as I cannot touch you. It is a curse and a blessing.”

“A trade, then! Take my protection, and I’ll take her curse.” Link’s eyes were wide and pleading.

Din glanced at Nayru, intrigued, before kneeling before Link, a long, sharp dagger appearing in her hand. “Do you understand? Her curse is death. You take it, and you _will_ die here. That pretty family of yours? That sister? Your mother? Your father? They will come in here and find you dead, not her. Is that what you’re willing to trade for this girl you don’t know?”

Link’s body shook as he looked down at Zelda. It wasn’t that simple. He didn’t know her for a short while. He knew her forever. He’d know her after his death, and before his life. She wasn’t just in his life but etched into his very existence.

“She’ll live a long life?”

“Link,” Nayru cautioned in a soothing voice. “You are so young. I can promise you that I will let your heart heal from this. You will live a long and happy life. I will see to it.”

“So you’ll do the same for her?”

Din scoffed again, muttering to Nayru, “Well, this is certainly the soul of the hero, isn’t it? Always willing to die for her.”

“Too willing,” Nayru said, her heart heavy. But she turned to Link. “If we do this, I cannot take it back. I cannot keep switching your blessing from person to person. If you do this, it is permanent.”

Din rolled her eyes. “Is this your choice, Link? To die for this girl?”

Link brushed Zelda’s hair from her face. “Can I say goodbye to my family, if not Zelda?”

“You’re going to actually go through with this?” Din laughed incredulously. “Interesting. Yes, I can give you that much.”

Link hesitated and then leaned back, away from Zelda, his eyes steeled. “Do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have fun with this fic because everyone is so dramatic. This is my disclaimer not to give your life up to a raging goddess just because you like a girl you just met.


	7. Chapter 7

Link woke up in his hammock in the hut he shared with his family.

But it wasn’t their faces he saw.

“Am I dead?” he asked to the blue and red Goddesses.

Din shrugged. “As good as. But you wanted the chance to say goodbye, did you not? I told you I’d give you that.” She bent in front of him and ran her finger along his jaw, proving that she was able to touch him this time, and that he had made the trade.

He shuddered and closed his eyes. “Where’s Zelda? Is she okay?”

Nayru moved away from him but nodded. “You have been out some time. I ensured her safe return home to her father in that time, and I have set her down the road to a lifetime of happiness. She will not forget you, Link.”

“She’s gone?”

“She has been taken home, yes.”

Link ran his hands through his hair and nodded, turning to Din. “Will it hurt?”

The Goddess shook her head. “No. I’ll lead you the whole way, and I will keep you calm. It will be peaceful.”

“Okay,” he breathed, taking in the feeling, letting the smell of the salt sea hit him harder than he’d ever felt. Then, he pushed himself to his feet and headed into the sunlight.

It beat down on him, and he closed his eyes to soak in the warmth. The wind wrapped around him, almost playfully, and he opened his eyes to see a third Goddess, green, smiling at him. She pursed her lips and blew in his direction, the wind spiraling around him, rustling his hair like a good-natured sibling might do.

He saw his family together on the seashore, huddled in the sand, playing with some unseen thing in their hands.

“Hey,” he said, coming up behind them. His voice cracked and his nerves threatened to shatter as his sister’s arms tightened around him. He gripped her tight and pulled her into his arms, holding her like he used to when she was younger.

“You’re a hero, you know?”

“Why?” Link asked as both his parents joined in embracing him.

“You saved that girl. Against all odds, you saved her. And you protected the village.”

His mother ran a hand through his hair, and Link had to bite his lip to stop from crying at the gesture he realized he’d never feel again.

Link took a deep breath and shifted Aryll in his arms. “I think… I want to… to go on… on an adventure.” He fumbled for the words that he just needed to get out of his system. He couldn’t tell them he was going to die. He couldn’t tell them what he’d done for a girl he barely knew in this life. That he’d chosen someone else over all of them. That thought itself steeled his resolve. “Yeah, I need to get out of here. I love Lurelin, but I need _something_ else.”

“Link,” his father said, his brow knitting. “You just woke up.”

“Yeah, and I think… I think the Goddesses are calling to me. They want me to do this. Farore will take me where I need to go, whatever I need to do.”

It was a low blow to use them on his family, devout as they were. He knew he was beholden to Din now, but Lurelin favored Farore for her control of the seas and the sun and the shade. He could almost see a sly smile on one of their faces, though the presence of someone was no more than a mere glimpse and a movement of the wind.

And Link’s pious revelation had its intended effect. His mother winced, as if the news had been a physical blow. “You’re injured. Surely this can wait? Let us take care of you.”

“Link,” his father said, coaxing Aryll from his son’s arms. “If this is about the girl…”

“It’s about the Goddesses,” he said, and it wasn’t entirely a lie. “I think… I think they came to me in a dream. They want me to leave today.”

“Link!” his mother tried again. “What’s this about? Are you alright?” Her soft hand rested on his cheek, and though he longed to pull away to save himself the hurt, he didn’t want to make his mother’s last memory of him being one of him flinching away.

“I have to go,” he said, giving her hand a squeeze before heading back to their home to pack his things, so it wasn’t quite as suspicious as him simply leaving to die. Tears fell down his cheeks as he threw some clothes into a bag, not even paying attention to what they were. He grabbed some shoes for the road ahead, planning to remove them before Din took him so he could feel the grass beneath his feet one last time, as much as he wished it would have been the sand and the water.

“Give me strength,” he muttered, knowing that Din was listening. He didn’t presume that she’d actually intervene, but there was an unexpected lightness in his chest that made every action just slightly easier to bear.

He slung his bag over his shoulder and said his goodbyes to his friends. He offered Maiamai a special thank you for everything she did for Zelda, and to Sebasto, his training master all these years. He said goodbye to Numan and Armez, his closest friends. It was all easy compared to the moment he wrapped himself in his mother’s arms, holding her tight and never wanting to let go.

“How long will you be gone?” she asked tearfully, almost as if she somehow had an inkling that this would be the last time she’d hold her son.

He shook his head into the crook of her neck. “I don’t know.”

“I want to come!” Aryll said, pulling at his leg.

He gave her a reassuring smile, though it was pained, and his eyes tinged red with fresh tears, before he pulled her into his arms. “No, you don’t. Be good for mom and dad, okay?”

“I will, but I still want to come!”

“Not this time, Aryll.” He let her go and pulled his necklace off, the one with the shark’s tooth and a story about him behind it. He dropped the loose twine around her neck and rustled her hair. “Keep that safe for me?”

“Okay,” she said, examining the tooth carefully before her mother pulled her into a comforting embrace, one that they both needed.

Link finally turned to his dad, crashing into his arms. “You be safe, son.”

“Yeah… I’ll try. You know me though.”

“If you’re going to the girl, just invite us to the wedding.”

Link laughed, and the pain it would have brought was eased by Din’s fiery strength that she lent to him. “Yeah, if that happens, I will.”

“Good. Come home soon.”

“Right.” The word caught in Link’s throat as he backed away. “I love you all. Don’t miss me much, okay? I’ll be fine.”

“You really have to do this?” Aryll asked one more time.

“Shhh,” his father said, kneeling to her. Then his eyes darted up to Link. “Don’t look back. Do what you need to do.”

Link swallowed down a few more tears, nodding his head as he headed up the long path out of the village, keeping his head down on the ground.

It wasn’t until he felt something beside him that he looked up and saw that he’d walked for miles.

“I’m ready,” he said, somehow knowing that it was Din and not one of the other Goddesses. “Can you just… go to them in a dream one day and let them know I’m not coming home?”

“I can do that.” Din walked like air, a swirl of wind at the bottom of her dress so he never saw her limbs move. “But I believe you have one more person you’d like to say goodbye to?”

“Din,” a new voice said. Nayru appeared on Link’s other side. “Don’t hurt him more.”

“He’s mine, sister. I can give him the time to say goodbye to the girl he’s dying for.”

“You’re cruel,” Nayru said with a huff, disappearing again.

“Why?” Link asked, turning to his constant companion.

“She’s made her happy. Do you want to say goodbye to her, even knowing that she’s happy?”

“Of course, if you’ll allow it.”

And Din did allow it.

She led Link the entire way to where Zelda lived, to the very doorsteps of her home.

Link felt suddenly underdressed and very self conscious. His hands shook as he rapped on the door.

A man opened it, dressed in his finest clothing, a stoic look on his face that masked his confusion and disgust. “May I help you, Sir?”

“I’m looking for Zelda.”

“The Lady Zelda is not here at present. She is meeting with her fiancée.”

“Her…” Link swallowed and nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”

The man closed the door, and Link made his way to the town square where he rested heavily against the fountain in the center.

Din appeared, though it seemed he was the only one who could see her.

“You are cruel,” Link muttered. “That’s how you made her happy? A fiancée?”

“Nayru caught her heart before it could shatter. If the roles had been reversed, you’d have found someone as well.”

“You brought me here so I could see that she’d already forgotten me?”

“So that you could see that she’ll be happy even once you’re gone. She won’t forget you. She’ll learn from you.”

“Just days ago, we were making plans to run away together, back when we didn’t know you’d cursed us.”

“Her. You were safe. You’re dying so she can be happy with someone else, with a life that doesn’t have you in it. That’s what you agreed to.”

Link ran his hands through his hair, frustrated. They could have let him think she mourned him for at least a week. He knew it was by their intervention, that their magic was what made it so, but did they have to show him? Did they have to remind him that he maybe loved her more than she loved him?

Din cocked her head, watching Link curiously. “I’ll take it back.”

“What?”

“I’ll make Nayru switch one more time. _You_ were meant to live. I was meant to have the girl. You can have your family. You can have your happiness. You can have everything this world has to offer you. The three of us will see to it. Just say the word, Link, and I’ll take her instead. Think of your sister.”

_Aryll clinging to his leg, begging him not to go._

“Your mother?”

_‘How long will you be gone?’ she’d asked tearfully._

“Your father?”

_Link had turned to his dad, crashing into his arms. “You be safe, son.”_

“I can give them all back to you. They never need to know how close they came to truly losing you. And Zelda? She was meant to die. She’s not losing anything. Her life has been handed to her, but her father is distant. This man, she’s just met him. There will be a while still until she feels even affection for him. She’s just started this all. She’s losing nothing.”

“Why do you want her so badly?” Link asked wearily.

“She was mine. I traded for you, but I can see what this is doing to you. It wasn’t meant for you. I made sure that she had family who she wouldn’t miss when the time came to lead her away. I made sure that her life stifled her. You? You have everything to lose. Tell me, and I’ll do it, Link. You were born to live.”

Din gestured to the far side of town, to a figure heading their way, still oblivious.

“There she is. Either say your goodbye, or let me do what I was meant to do.”

Link watched Zelda’s approach, the grin on her face. But he could still feel Aryll’s phantom arms around him, and his mother’s lips on his cheek, and his father’s smile still burned in his mind.

Standing, Link took a deep breath and nodded to himself. “She’s happy? For the first time, she’s happy. And you said it yourself; I’ve had happiness my whole life. How can I take it from her now?” He turned away, his back facing her. If she saw him, if she saw his face, he’d take some of that happiness away from her. Now, she was free. If she saw him, it would remind her of someone left behind.

Even at his own expense, at his own closure, he couldn’t say goodbye. Not to her.

“I’m ready now.”

“Are you sure, Link? This is the last chance.”

“Just do it.”

Din faltered for a moment, surprised by his choice. But Nayru’s voice broke through the tense silence. “Did you expect him to sacrifice her? His past lives have lived for that woman, and you thought he wouldn’t be willing to die for her?”

Link turned around, finding the streets of the town empty. Cracks in the cobblestones beneath his feet sprouted grass, and the wind swirled around him.

Farore sat on the fountain and held out her hand to Link. “Take off those shoes.”

He wrapped his fingers through hers and kicked off the shoes. She helped him up onto the ledge and urged him to step into the gushing fountain. And when he did, the water lapped at his feet, and he wriggled his toes, feeling the sands from the beaches of Lurelin replacing the stone. Wind caressed his face, blowing his clothes around as if he were caught in a tornado, though it was the most serene thing he’d ever experienced.

It was warm, like being wrapped in a blanket by the fire against the chill of night. And he smelled the sea.

Farore’s hand was tight in his, but he felt another press against his chest. It was a little uncomfortable, like the pressure of holding his breath for too long but without the pain and panic of the experience. Just pressure. Din ran another hand through his hair in a comforting gesture.

“We’ll watch out for them all. And when you return again, I will do all I can to keep you both together.”

“I’ve got you, Link,” Farore said, holding his hand tighter.

Nayru watched, unable to lay a hand on the boy. But she nodded her ascent to him, her promise.

“Look at the sky,” Farore whispered.

Link looked up, holding tight to the hand as he fought against the spinning sensation he felt. The sky was alight with unending stars. One streaked across the sky, downward like a tear. The rest shimmered.

Link looked down to see the ripple of waves reflecting the sky above so he was surrounded by stars and water and pressure and a hand that held him tight through it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look how fast that update was!! These WIPs are going to be finished!! YAS! Just an epilogue left! If you don't like the epilogue/epilogues in general, you can pretend it ends here, because that was originally the ending hahahha whoops! Talk about ending it on a positive note if you do 😬


	8. Chapter 8

* * *

**Epilogue**

* * *

_Din was the Goddess of Death. She ferried the departed to the Sacred Realm and kept their light safe until Nayru needed to return them to the earth, to another body, another family, a new mind. But it was the same soul. It was always the same soul._

“Is it time?” Nayru asked as she came up behind her sister.

Din sat at the edge of the pool of souls, watching two familiar ones clinging to each other so tightly that there was no mistaking who they’d last belonged to. Running her fingers along them, they separated only for the moment she touched them, and then they snapped back together. She could see them both in her mind: one courageous enough to face death again and again, and the other wise and strong enough to bear the weight of the world if need be.

“They’re the ones,” Din said, breathing into her leg as she tucked it under her chin. “I wish they weren’t.”

“I know. But it _is_ time. We need them as much as they’ll need each other.”

“After all these years, he’s back.”

Nayru took her place beside her sister. “Yes. I thought we’d been rid of him, too. Farore is taking care of the sword now, protecting it until the time is right. We cannot defeat _him_ in this form, and he knows it.”

Din closed her eyes and grabbed one of the souls, feeling their lives in her hand. “I won’t let him die. Not this time.”

Nayru held the other. “Sometimes, even you don’t have to power to stop the inevitable.”

Din scoffed and released the soul down to the land below, letting it wander to find its body. Nayru did the same.

They both crossed their arms, watching them drift down like feathers in the wind.

“You’ve taken a liking to the boy,” Nayru laughed as she stepped away, seeing Din’s hesitation to leave.

Din, on the other hand, shook her head. “I’m going to place my mark on him again.”

“What?” Nayru hissed, rushing to grab her sister. “What are you thinking?”

With eyes like fire, Din pulled her arm free. “I’ll control that boy’s death. Give the girl your protection again.”

“I can’t. Not again.”

“Do it!”

“We cannot meddle now. We have more to worry about. The return of that _beast_ for one.”

But Din simply smiled and winked. “Bye!”

“Din!” Nayru went to take a step forward, but Din was already gone.

Din stared into the eyes of the young baby, bright and blue, held by his father. A knight of Hyrule, a Royal Guard, even. He was born into a family with the perfect circumstances to give him his best chance at becoming the hero the world would need, she thought wryly. Souls knew what they were doing.

“You’ll be strong,” she whispered, booping the baby on the nose before grabbing the back of his hand. And once again, the boy had the Hand of Din upon him. And she returned to the Sacred Realm with a satisfied smile upon her face.

But the smile fell all too quickly.

She collected many souls in the years that followed the births of both babies as monsters ravaged the land. It became a task that she’d devoted all her time to, and rarely was able to check on the status of her favorite Hylian.

The Sacred Realm felt a fragility that it hadn’t experienced in many centuries. There was a power trying to break through, to usurp the divinity of the three Goddesses, and there were only two Hylians who had the power to stop it.

Din, Nayru, and Farore all convened when a surge of light wafted through the Sacred Realm, engulfing everything they knew in a cloud of warmth and peace. When Farore investigated, it was the boy, just a child, who’d made it through the protective maze of her creation to pull the Sacred Sword from its resting place.

As hopeful as it made her, she sighed, remembering the last time she’d held the boy’s hand. When he’d given his life for a girl his physical form barely knew, but his soul was connected to. And now, he was here, ready to do it all again. Farore knew their paths would have to cross soon, and she feared what this Sword and the responsibility it brought would do to that boy. If he was willing to give up his life for one girl, what would he be willing to sacrifice when he realized the entire world needed him?

There was already Malice seeping up from the earth. Malice, the purest evil, and the one thing that none of the Goddesses themselves could touch since the birth of Demise eons ago. They’d already lost their fourth sister in an attempt to stop it. Now, that sacrifice was all they had left as a weapon against such evil. And once her soul was reincarnated, even _that_ was beyond their control.

Nayru watched some years later as Link’s father brought him to the castle grounds. Link had already shrunk into himself, becoming a shell of what he once was. His childhood had been effectively stolen the moment he’d pulled the sword. It hurt her to watch one of her two chosen souls suffer so much. But she didn’t have the luxury this time around of easing either of their minds.

He’d turned, looking at the magnificence of the high walls and glorious gardens. And there, a young emerged, clutching on to the arm of her handmaiden as she excitedly told her a story.

Link’s father noticed his son’s distraction and immediately bowed, nudging his boy to follow suit.

The Princess of Hyrule’s eyes went immediately to the sword on the back of the boy, the sword that was so large it nearly dragged into the grass behind him. It didn’t even looked like it belonged to him, but the Princess knew that it did. It stirred a resentment in her small body that she didn’t even know she could possess, and she immediately stormed away.

Nayru made a face and watched as Link’s gaze on her lingered until she was long gone before returning his attention to his father.

Years later, Din watched Link fall to his knees, bleeding and struggling for breath. Zelda was pressed up behind him, clutching his arm in desperation.

“Link, save yourself! Go! I’ll be fine! Don’t worry about me! Run!”

She made to push Link out of the way as the Guardians approached, but Link held fast, pushing himself to his feet and raising his sword again.

Both of their eyes went wide as the Guardian crawled over the rubble and the wreckage, locking its single blue eye on them, raising itself to an impossible height as it climbed over its own dead to ensure its prey had no escape.

Nayru appeared beside Din, with Farore on the other side. “Can we do anything?”

“The Calamity is too strong to intervene,” Din said simply. “I’ve already tried.”

“Then the Spirit of Demise has won.”

“NO!” Zelda cried, pushing herself in front of Link, her hand raised skyward as a massive beam of blinding light erupted from it, engulfing the land, permeating the sky, breaking through the barriers of the Sacred Realm itself.

The Guardian sputtered, and the light subsided, and every Guardian on the field fell to the earth with a crash of rapidly decaying metal.

“Was that…” Din asked at the same time that Zelda did. She turned to her sisters. 

Nayru nodded and watched, open mouthed. “I gave her my protection. Perhaps that was what made it so difficult to access the Sacred Power?”

“Too little too late, it seems,” Din said, as she walked over to Link and Zelda.

Zelda cradled her knight in her arms as she begged him to get up. And when his head lolled back and his breathing subsided, Zelda’s head crashed down to his chest, her body wrought with despair.

Din knelt beside him, feeling his death keenly. She’d thought her mark would be enough to keep the inevitability of death at bay. But instead, like her hand always did, it simply caused more death.

Her eyes flicked up to the castle, to the town of people she still needed to collect. To the beast who claimed the world as its own. To the man behind it who wanted the Sacred Realm and all its powers.

Had she and Nayru doomed the world with their intervention? The look on her sister said that the thought was there in her mind as well.

But Din had always been stubborn, and there were few things that could stop her when she wanted something done.

“You will not die, Link,” Din said, grabbing his hand where she’d held him as a baby. The mark glowed, her power lighting up even the Master Sword in his hand. “I will not take you with me today.”

“So he can… he can still be saved?” Zelda asked, almost as if she could hear the whisper of the Goddess in her ear.

Din locked eyes with Zelda, for only a moment, forgotten with a blink. Din stood up, pulling up the hem of her dress as she walked back to her sisters with a determined look on her face, more determined even than when she attempted to show Nayru up.

“What did you do?” Nayru asked as several Sheikah ran over to the fallen boy.

“Nothing. I’m just not taking him today. That is my right. I’ve marked him, and I will take his life when I see fit.”

“He’s dead, Din.”

“He’s not dead until I say he’s dead.”

Nayru and Farore watched as the Sheikah took Link’s body away, leaving the Princess to hurry in the other direction.

“What makes you so sure? We have no influence in the Calamity.”

Din flexed her fingers and held them tight. She’d have to wait. They’d all have to wait for Link to recover from death, but this was not the end.

She’d once offered the boy a chance to trade his life for Zelda’s. He gave it freely again in this life. And she’d be damned if the Goddess of Death wasn’t able to control the one thing that was hers. Even if it took 100 years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot woot!! This fic is done!! AKA The fic where I managed to kill Link twice hahahahaha! Din's stubbornness was what we hated in the beginning of this story, and now it's going to save the world! I wanted to write this as the epilogue since about halfway through this fic, so I'm glad it's here, but I also know that it's not for everyone, since it's not the same Link and Zelda you possibly expected to be featured here, so feel free to pretend this ended in the last chapter if you want! Anyway, thank you so much for reading! <3


End file.
